Serbian man gets 3 years for not staying home

A woman walks with dogs in a deserted street amid the coronavirus outbreak in downtown Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, March 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

BELGRADE, Serbia — A Serbian court has sentenced a man to three years in jail for flouting self-isolation orders.

The state Serbian TV said the first such sentence in the Balkan country was handed out during a video linked court session in an eastern Serbian town.

The TV said there are 112 people in detention in Serbia for ignoring the orders to stay at home and are awaiting trials. Some 50,000 people are under lockdown, most of them Serbs who have returned to the country from abroad after the March 15 introduction of the nationwide state of emergency.

Serbia, which has recorded 435 coronavirus cases and seven deaths, has introduced some of the most restrictive measures in Europe. They include a 12-hour police enforced curfew and a 24-hour ban for leaving their homes for those older than 65.

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