A member of the Pussy Riot group Maria Alekhina was detained in Moscow, Russian Internet media reported on Thursday, December 16, citing the activist herself. Alekhina was taken to the police department in the Tverskoy district. She was stopped by police officers at the exit from the apartment – in the same place where another member of Pussy Riot, municipal deputy Lusya Stein, had been detained several hours earlier.
According to the detention protocol, Alekhina is charged with Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code (propaganda or display of Nazi or extremist symbols). In the report, in particular, it is indicated that on November 26 Alekhina posted a story on Instagram, “possibly containing signs of extremism.” We are talking about a repost of a publication from 2015, where the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is depicted with symbols that look like a swastika. Alekhina and Stein face up to 15 days of administrative arrest or a fine of up to 2 thousand rubles.
Before the arrest, Maria Alekhina wrote on Instagram: “Now I will leave the house, they will detain me, take me to the police department and give 15 days. For what? And not for anything. For the post with Lukashenka in 2015.”
Detention of activists
Lucy Stein and Maria Alekhina were also involved in the so-called “sanitary case”. Several months ago, a court in Moscow sentenced each of them to a year of restriction of freedom.
In November, a Moscow court arrested artist Farhad Israfilli-Guelman for 15 days for “disobeying a police officer”, who held a rally with Pussy Riot last fall. In August, a court in Moscow arrested another Pussy Riot participant, Rita Flores, for the same term for “displaying Nazi symbols”, who posted a meme on the social network with a picture of a musician from the Tokio Hotel group and a swastika.
Activists from Pussy Riot Veronika Nikulshina and Anna Kuzminykh served two arrests for 15 days each summer, after which they left Russia. Pussy Riot member Alexander Sofeev also left the country and was also sentenced to administrative arrests.
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