Pussy Riot members detained in Switzerland after attempting anti-war graffiti

Police in the Swiss city of Bern detained Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokhina, Lucy Shtein, and Taso Pletner for attempting to spray paint anti-war graffiti on a curb. The group’s producer Alexander Cheparukhin informed Mediazona.

According to Cheparukhin, Alyokhina, Shtein and Pletner were taken away in handcuffs, and one of the police officers said that the band members could be expelled from the country.

Cheparukhin said: "I have photos but they took photos of me and Olya Borisova, another Pussy Riot member, and warned me that if I post these photos on social media, I will be held responsible - you can't take photos of cops here," Cheparukhin added.

Borisova published a picture of an unfinished picture of the detained participants of Pussy Riot.

A few hours after the arrest, police released Alyokhina, Shtein and Pletner, and took them to their hotel. No charges were reported against the Pussy Riot members.

In 2021, Lucy Shtein and Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to one year of “restrictions on freedom” (a parole-like sentence) on violation of sanitary and epidemiological norms charges linked to the January 23, 2021 protests over Alexey Navalny's arrest. Over the past year, the activists have been repeatedly detained and sent to administrative detention.

In April, Shtein and Alyokhina left Russia, having cut off their ankle monitors. At the moment, they're performing in Europe as part of their "Riot Days" tour. The Russian Interior Ministry put the activists on the wanted list.