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Russian Woman Convicted of Smoked-Fish Assault on Police Officer

Smoked fish vendors are a common sight at the Babarinsk train station. Pixabay

A Russian woman has made headlines after being found guilty of a truly fishy crime.

Yulia Kostyukova, 31, a resident of the Siberian town of Barabinsk, “deliberately” hit a police officer “many times” with a package of smoked fish when asked to leave the railway platform where she’d been illegally selling the fish to hungry train passengers, regional investigators said

The Babarinsky district court in February found Kostyukova guilty of using violence against a police officer, handing her a one-year suspended sentence with a 10-month probation period.

The verdict entered into force Tuesday.

Kostyukova pleaded not guilty and claimed that the officer had sworn at her before knocking her to the pavement. She said she retaliated by hitting the officer with her hat.

Vendors commonly sell smoked smoked bream, carp and asp at the Babarinsk railway station, reports say, and often enter into conflict with police officers.

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