MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Moscow’s Presnensky Court sentenced Tajik blogger Karomatullo Dzhaborov who imitated a Covid spell in the Moscow Metro to two years and four months in prison on Monday, his defense attorney Roman Shakhmanov told TASS.

"My client Dzhaborov has been given two years and four months in prison. His other accomplices received suspended sentences," he said.

The prosecution sought a four-year verdict during the hearing. Dzhaborov pleaded not guilty, saying that he wanted "people to treat the coronavirus seriously" and that the media blew the prank out of proportion.

Moscow police officers were monitoring the media and online space when they stumbled upon the prank performed in the Moscow Metro on February 2, 2020, depicting a man fainting and imitating a sudden fit. Meanwhile, his accomplices were shouting that the man contracted a dangerous viral infection to provoke panic among passengers. The prank was later uploaded to a video hosting service.