Week-ending 25 June 2021
On 23 June 2021 Aleksandr Sofeev, a member of Pussy Riot, was sentenced to 15 days in jail for ‘minor hooliganism.’ The next day, Maria Alekhina, a member of Pussy Riot, was also sentenced to 15 days in jail. She had been originally arrested when travelling to get a vaccination against Covid-19. Police said they took her into custody because they had information she intended to perform an ‘unsanctioned protest’ on the 80th anniversary of the Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union.
Sources:
RFE/RL, 23 June 2021: A Moscow court has sentenced a member of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot to 15 days in jail on a charge of “minor hooliganism,” part of a series of moves against the activists in recent days. The court issued the ruling against Aleksandr Sofeyev on June 23. A Moscow photographer, Dmitry Vorontsov, who was detained along with Sofeyev, was also sentenced to 15 days in jail on the same charge.
RFE/RL, 24 June 2021: A founding member of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, has been sentenced to 15 days in jail on a charge of “disobeying police” amid a crackdown on the group’s members in recent days. The court sentenced Alyokhina on June 24, two days after she was detained for questioning while traveling to get a vaccination against COVID-19. Police said they took her into custody because they had information “about her plans to perform an unsanctioned protest action on the day of the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union.”
