A jailed member of the female Russian punk group Pussy Riot began a hunger strike to protest what her lawyer said were death threats from prison officials. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is seeking to either be transferred out of the facility in the Mordovia region about 450 kilometers southeast of Moscow or placed in solitary confinement to ensure her safety, according to a statement posted on Openinform.ru and confirmed by Irina Hrunova, her lawyer. Tolokonnikova, 23, was convicted of hooliganism and inciting religious hatred last August for performing a song critical of President Vladimir Putin inside Moscow’s Christ the Savior cathedral. The case spurred protests by freedom-of-speech advocates across Russia and abroad. Tolokonnikova is serving a two-year sentence. One member of the group freed last October. Hrunova said Tolokonnikova has filed a formal complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office. Prosecutors have received the complaint and “will send it to investigators for checking,” the Interfax news service reported today, citing a statement by the regional branch of the office. Penal Colony No. 14, where Tolokonnikova is being held, declined to comment, according to a woman who answered the prison’s main number and identified herself as a duty officer. To contact the reporter on this story: Ott Ummelas in Moscow at [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 00:23:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015