After President Vladimir V. Putin released two members of the band Pussy Riot from a two year sentence on December 23, the same two women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, and a few members of the band were detained at a police station on Tuesday.
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina, who were sentenced two years in prison in connection to a protest that took place in a cathedral in Moscow, , where they prayed to Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin, said that they would have rather served the last few weeks of their sentence then to be released through an Amnesty Program initiated by President Putin to make himself look open minded for the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics, according to New York Times.
On Tuesday, the girls and several other band members were detain in an alleged theft case that took place in their hotel. The demonstrators were also held on Monday for “10 hours” and on Sunday, they were detained for seven.
According to NBC News, Tolokonnikova told Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty from a phone interview inside the police car that they had been tailed constantly, by foot and car, by Russian authorities. Alyokhina also tweeted that they were “Dragged into the investigator’s office along the stairway. Everyone has bruises.”
Pussy Riot was formed in 2011. It contains 11 members, in which they stage protests in public locations where they perform songs and take video to post on the internet. Popular themes among the group are LGBT rights, President Putin, and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The women will be releasing a new song called “Putin Will Teach You to Love the Motherland”.
Below is a demonstration that was held in Moscow's main cathedral, where two members were sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Video Courtesy of Youtube
Photo Courtesy of WikiMedia Commons
