Pussy Riot Activists Arrested for Demonstration in Support of Female Prisoners

Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova and fellow protestor Katya Nenasheva were arrested today (June 12) -- also Russia Day -- for a demonstration in support of female prisoners in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow.

Tolokonnikova and Nenasheva, who were dressed in prison jumpsuits, reportedly laid out white, blue and red fabric with the intentions of stitching it together into the Russian flag with the words, “Prison camp Russia.” However, authorities detained the women, placing them in a police van.

After they were placed in police custody, Tolokonnikova and Nenasheva posted a statement entitled “Do Not Be Afraid. Action In Support of Women Prisoners” to their Facebook. “Nobody cares about this social group,” they write (translation courtesy of Mashable). “Most people fail to understand the difficulties women face in the outside world after being released from prison.”

The women also shared this photo from within the police van:

Recently, we learned Pussy Riot filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights regarding an incident during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics when members of the punk protest group were whipped by the local Cossack militia while filming a video for “Putin Will Teach You How to Love Your Motherland.” Pussy Riot accused Russian authorities of not properly investigating the clash.