Update 6/15/15 10:00 AM: Nadya Tolokonnikova and Katya Nenasheva were released on Friday evening, after being detained for "violation of public order." They are expected to appear in court this week.
Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot was arrested on Friday during a protest performance staged in Moscow's central Bolotnaya Square. No sooner had Tolokonnikova and fellow activist Katya Nenasheva arrived—dressed in makeshift prison garb and with sewing machines they intended to use to stitch together a Russian flag in a show of support for female prisoners—when the Moscow police arrived to detain them. They are still in police custody, according to a spokeswoman for Tolokonnikova.
"June 12th is the 18th day of Katherine Nenasheva's action and also Russia Day, an important holiday in Russia that celebrates our flag and Constitution," Tolokonnikova writes in a statement regarding the performance. "So here we are, on this square, and we will sew the sign 'PRISON CAMP RUSSIA' to the face of the Russian flag on Russia Day."
Below, see more photos from the their short-lived performance and arrest, plus the full statement from Tolokonnikova. We'll update when we know more.
Full statement:
Action "DON'T BE AFRAID"
For 30 days the activist Katherine Nenasheva will be living her regular life wearing a prison robe of a female convict. She goes to exams, takes meetings, goes to the movies, gets groceries, goes out - she continues her daily life.
June 12 is the 18th day of Katherine Nenasheva's action and also Russia Day - an important holiday in Russia that celebrates our flag and Constitution. On this day I am joining Katherine to sew a huge Russian flag in the same prison uniform that I wore during my time in the prison camps.
We will sew the Russian flag on Bolotnaya square, the square that became the starting point for many years in prison for dozens of activists who went out to protest Putin's regime in May 2012. So here we are, on this square, and we will sew the sign "PRISON CAMP RUSSIA" to the face of the Russian flag on Russia Day.
Nadya Tolokonnikova
