Protesters had gathered outside a court today to condemn the prison sentences handed down to seven people who took part in a 2012 protest against Vladimir Putin.
The scuffles came a day after the protest punk band’s members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were detained by police in the Russian Black Sea resort
Guess what? Traditional media no longer gets to dictate we can (or should) care about – as Panti Bliss, Pussy Riot and a host of other activists and individuals have proved, writes Lisa McInerney.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was today freed hours after Maria Alyokhina was released. The third band member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was freed months into her sentence.
The whereabouts of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, jailed two years ago for her part in the performance of a protest song, had been unknown since October 22nd.
The 24-year-old is one of two members of the opposition punk band serving two years in remote prison camps over an anti-Kremlin stunt in a church last year.
CONTROVERSY HAS RAGED following a decision by President Michael D Higgins to decline an invitation to attend a church service alongside Queen Elizabeth to mark Northern Ireland’s centenary is a political move.
Unionists and the Alliance Party have asked for clarity after it emerged that Michael D Higgins would not be present at the event in Armagh next month.
The service has been titled as ‘marking the centenaries of the partition of Ireland and the foundation of Northern Ireland.’
He told reporters in Rome that what had started out as an invitation to a religious service had, in fact, become a political statement.
Partly sunny with a brief shower or two
Max: 16 °C
Min: 11 °C
Partly sunny
Max: 17 °C
Min: 10 °C
