Russian Activist jailed for spitting on Putin portrait
Nothing to be sneezed at.
A Russian court has jailed an opposition activist for 15 days for spitting on a portrait of President Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Karuyev, 20, was found guilty of "breaching public order" and "expressing clear disrespect for society" while taking part in a protest on the eve of Putin’s inauguration on May 7.
Karuyev, a member of the Other Russia movement, was detained as he staged a one-man protest outside an office of the ruling United Russia party in the town of Cheboksary, some 660 kilometers south of Moscow.
Karuyev said he had "sneezed, not spat" on the portrait, which he brought along to the protest.
The story has become popular on the Internet with a joke about "giving a sneeze about Putin."
Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty