SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Pussy Riot member incommunicado for two weeks

Jailed Pussy Riot punk Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has not been heard from for nearly two weeks since she left her Russian prison colony following demands to be transferred to another, her husband said on Saturday.

russia_pussy_rio_120721_getty_b_1441575748
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (L) has not been heard from for nearly two weeks. (AAP)

2 min read

Published

Source: AFP


Skip to article content

In September, Tolokonnikova went on hunger strike in protest at what she called murder threats and "slave labour conditions" in the penal colony in Mordovia.

   

Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov said his wife had been incommunicado since she left the camp, some 250 miles (400 kilometres) from Moscow, on October 22.

   

"We have not heard from Nadezhda for 13 days now," Verzilov, leader of the art group Voina (War), told AFP.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

   

"We believe that the prison service has chosen this peculiar method to punish her."

   

He added that according to sources Tolokonnikova was known to be passing through the city of Chelyabinsk in the Urals last month.

   

Supporters on Saturday picketed the headquarters of the prison service in Moscow.

   

The Federal Service for the Execution of Punishment has confirmed that Tolokonnikova was being transferred to another colony but refused to give details.

   

Voina said on Twitter that the prison service said Tolokonnikova's whereabouts would be revealed "later."

   

Tolokonnikova and her bandmate Maria Alyokhina are serving a two-year sentence for their punk group's performance in a Moscow church criticising President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church's close links to the Kremlin.

   

Both have small children and are scheduled for release in March.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world