During a prison transfer on October 21st, Pussy Riot member, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, was ‘ghosted’ away to an unknown destination. The Russian authorities are refusing to tell her husband, family, or lawyer what has happened to her or where she is being held. It is now 15 days since anyone had any contact with Nadezhda.
In an interview, Tolokonnikova’s husband stated that:
“This is how the system makes a person disappear without a trace for weeks. After two hunger strikes she had in October she must be weak and physically vulnerable – I am very worried about her.”
Family and supporters are claiming that the disappearance is a punishment for the publicity that the Pussy Riot case has generated, and for the letters she has sent from prison detailing the slave-like conditions, the beatings, the death threats, forced stripping’s of female inmates, and the banning of toilet access. Her supporters believe that the order to move and hide Tolokonnikova came from the very highest levels in Moscow, as they wish to “cut her off from the outside world”.
The Federal Service for the Execution of Punishment (Gulag bosses) have confirmed that Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been transferred to another colony, but have refused to give any further information to her family or legal team, other than to say “Details of her whereabouts will be revealed at a later date”.
In order to destabilise and unsettle prisoners, transfers are commonplace; however, relatives and legal representatives are usually informed when a transfer is to take place, and where they will be taken to. Prisoners are then allowed to telephone their families.
Following a complaint and an ‘internal’ investigation, authorities claim that there is “No evidence of any wrongdoing”
Solidarity with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, her family, and supporters.
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