Pussy Riot members sent to Russian camps

22 Oct 2012, 9:48 am   -   Source: AAP
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The art group Voina (War), which is closely affiliated with Pussy Riot, on Twitter called Mordovia 'the worst prison hell there is'. (File: AAP)

The art group Voina (War), which is closely affiliated with Pussy Riot, on Twitter called Mordovia 'the worst prison hell there is'. (File: AAP)

Two Pussy Riot members have been sent to remote Russian prison camps to serve their two-year sentences far from their families.

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Two Pussy Riot feminist punk band members have been taken to remote Russian prison camps after a court upheld their two-year sentences for mocking President Vladimir Putin in church, their lawyer says.

"Nadya Tolokonnikova has been sent to Mordovia, and Maria Alyokhina to Perm," defence lawyer Violetta Volkova told AFP on Monday.

The Perm region in the Urals mountains and Mordovia in central Russia host a vast network of prison camps dating back to the Soviet era and infamous for their tough conditions.

"They were convoyed on Saturday," Volkova said, adding that their relatives had learnt of the move when their parcels for the women were rejected at the Moscow prison where they had been temporarily held.

It remains unclear when the two young women, who both have small children, will reach their final destination, Volkova said.

Tolokonnikova's husband, activist Pyotr Verzilov, told the Moscow Echo radio station that according to his unconfirmed information, the women were not sent by train as is usual but "were sent by air in special flights".

A Twitter account organised by the band also said the two members were taken in a "special" convoy to the prison camps, but gave no details.

"Of all the possible options, these are the cruellest prison camps," the Twitter account @pussy_riot noted.

The art group Voina (War), which is closely affiliated with Pussy Riot, on Twitter called Mordovia "the worst prison hell there is".

The city of Perm, the region's capital, is about 1400 kilometres from Moscow, while the regional capital of Mordovia, Saransk, is about 640km from Moscow.

The Perm region, where temperatures can fall as low as minus 50 degrees Celcius in winter, housed Stalin-era labour camps, one of which has been turned into a museum about the history of political repression.

Mordovia is a region dotted with lakes that is chiefly known for its prison camps dating back to the Stalin era. In the 1930s and '40s, the prison population here numbered 23,000 prisoners, according to the regional prison service's website.

The region now has 17 prison camps, the prison service said.

The choice of distant camps appears to be deliberate to make it harder for the public to follow what happens to the women, rights activist Lev Ponomaryov told Moscow Echo.

"Evidently the women have been sent to distant colonies so it's harder for the Pussy Riot members to contact relatives and lawyers, and also it's harder for the public to check on their fate," said the leader of For Human Rights group.

Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and their bandmate Yekaterina Samutsevich were in August sentenced to two years in prison after they staged a balaclava-clad performance inside Moscow's main cathedral mocking Putin.

A Russian appeals court this month upheld the prison camp sentences against Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina but unexpectedly ordered the release of Samutsevich in what many observers believe was an attempt to split the tightly knit band.

Samutsevich told AFP in an interview ahead of the women's departure that they were calmly preparing for a transfer that they saw as inevitable after their failed appeal.

"They understand that they will soon go to the (prison) colony. They are packing their things," she said.

"In principle they are ready for it. They are not upset about it. We all expected that the colony would happen, we all knew it, so it's OK, they just know that they need to go soon."

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Your Comments

Pussy Riot Members Sent to Russian Prison Camp

Margaret Whittle - from Castlemaine, 7 months ago

Nadyna, Maria and Yekaterina I will keep you in my prayers until you are released and reunited with your families. Today I burn a candle for you and for freedom of speech. Love is stronger than stone and iron! Wherever these cruel people lock you away across the world love will travel and find you.

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