Kathrine Frich
Online shopping usually involve reading a few customer opinions before clicking buy.
Sometimes buyers leave funny comments or silly pictures to make other shoppers smile.
But in certain parts of the world, a simple internet joke can quickly trigger severe, life-altering legal consequences.
A costly fashion review
A young man from Uzbekistan just learned a hard lesson. The migrant worker was living in Russia when he decided to casually browse the Wildberries digital marketplace last September.
He found a women’s leather skirt and left a strange customer review. According to the news blog Spooky cited by Oddity Central, the man known only as Islomjon included a photograph of himself actually wearing the garment.
The feedback was clearly intended to be a joke. “Great skirt! It conceals not only my figure flaws but even the fact that I’m a guy,” Islomjon wrote in his online post.
Crossing a legal line
The uploaded picture did not actually hide his gender. Although he eventually deleted both the image and the comment from the shopping website, local police did not share his sense of humor.
The Russian Federation officially classifies the LGBT movement as a banned extremist organization. Because of this strict policy, any public association with non-traditional relationships now carries heavy penalties under modern state laws.
Investigators tracked the young migrant down and arrested him. Spooky reports that officials charged him with spreading information designed to foster and promote non-traditional sexual attitudes.
Facing the music
During his formal court appearance, the online shopper admitted he made a mistake. He begged the judge to issue a standard financial fine so he could remain in the country and keep working.
The court completely refused his request for leniency. The judge ruled that there were zero mitigating factors to lessen the severity of his digital actions.
Instead of a fine, Islomjon spent five days locked up under administrative arrest. Following his brief time in a holding cell last month, state authorities forcibly deported the man back to his home country.
Sources: Spooky, Oddity central
