Bed-ridden woman receives shocking fine for breaking coronavirus lockdown
A woman who has been bed-ridden for over a year was shocked to find a message from Russian authorities saying she had been fined for breaking the country’s coronavirus lockdown.
Irina Karabulatova, a professor at the People’s Friendship University of Russia, has been restricted to her bed for a year after a botched operation on her back left her with a grade one disability.
Ms Karabulatova, who lives in the Russian capital Moscow, says she was shocked to find a fine for violating Russia’s coronavirus lockdown on an online account.
She then rang a call centre to find out exactly what the fine was for, and she was told that it was because she had not downloaded the ‘Social Monitoring’ application for coronavirus tracking on her phone.
Ms Karabulatova says she could not download the application as her phone was too old, and said in a video: “The second thing is that according to the law, they have to deal with this application if any issues appear.”
"Nobody ever called me to ask if I had installed the application or if I had any issues with it, but they quickly sent me a fine for 4,000 RUB (A$85).”
She reportedly called several call centres to try to have the fine withdrawn, but after nobody could help her she decided to publicise her case.
The professor, who suffers from a 90 per cent reduction in her motor skills and a weakened immune system, said it wasn’t about the amount but the “attitude”.
“They talk to me in such a rude way and no one ever tries to really help,” she said.
Ms Karabulatova has since revealed that she had received a message on her phone claiming that the fine had been withdrawn but she has not received an official response about the case.
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