Mr Nikitenko has requested that Russia's Supreme Court rule on whether the sentence is legitimate if the judge "was not in control of the trial".

BBC: Russian judge resigns for apparently sleeping on the job

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say catching the illness isn't always a death sentence, but bacterial meningitis is usually severe.

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In April, the government announced proposals to bring in a two-year jail sentence for dog owners in England and Wales whose animals were found to be "dangerously out of control" in their own or other people's homes.

BBC: Clifford Clarke