A Frenchman has been sentenced to two months in prison in Russia for illegally entering the country with a paddleboard. The man crossed a reservoir bordering both countries from Estonia. He wanted to settle in Russia.
The man crossed the Narva Reservoir, an artificial lake that Estonia and Russia use for cooling power plants, among other things. The border between the two countries runs right through the artificial water supply.
The French consulate in St. Petersburg has contacted the Russian authorities, a diplomatic source told news agency Reuters. The consulate has insisted that the man must be protected under international treaties.
The man said he had previously received psychiatric treatment, according to the court in the north of the province of Leningrad.