Prankster faces felony charges for faking coronavirus seizure aboard Moscow's subway

A prankster in Moscow faces up to five years in prison on disorderly conduct charges for faking convulsions brought on by an illness aboard a subway car. According to local police, the suspect is already in custody and officers are now searching for his accomplices.

The incident occurred on February 2 between the “Polezhayevskaya” and “Ulitsa 1905 Goda” stations. According to officials, “The young man fell to the ground, imitating a sudden seizure. Meanwhile, his accomplices started shouting phrases about him being infected with a dangerous virus, provoking panic among the passengers.”

Based on the description of events, the suspects appear to be individuals from the Kara Prank YouTube channel (which has deleted its original upload). According to the news outlet Baza (which has close ties to law enforcement but doesn’t always report reliable information), the man now in custody is a 25-year-old Tajikistani national named Karomatullo Dzhaborov.

On February 7, the Moscow Metro reported “several” recent pranks carried out inside the subway related to the coronavirus. Metro officials said they would take the matter to the police.