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Pussy Riot arrested in Sochi for bogus theft accusation

Sarah Hofmann Contributor
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Members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were arrested in Sochi while casually walking down the street, they claim. Musicians Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina are only two of about a dozen activists who have been detained during the Olympic games.

Tolokonnikova told the Guardian that although they were in Sochi with the intention of having a performance, they were doing nothing that should have provoked an arrest. “We were just walking around Sochi when they grabbed us,” she said. “They told us we are suspected of theft. Of course there has been no theft.”

Human rights activist Semyon Simonov was detained with the two members and said no official charges have been made yet. He did confide that the police told him it was the hotel that accused them of theft.

She announced via Twitter that the band had planned to perform a song entitled, “Putin will teach you how to love the motherland.” They had been scoping out where to hold their performance since their arrival on Sunday and claim they have been questioned and harassed repeatedly by law enforcement.

Tolokonnikova and Alekhina had just been released from prison in December after being held for almost the two years for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.”

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Sarah Hofmann