Support The Moscow Times!

Court Rejects Defamation Case Against Pussy Riot's Tolokonnikova

Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova following her release from prison in December.

A court in Siberia has thrown out a defamation case brought against Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova by a prison official, the Agora human rights group said.

Tolokonnikova wrote an open letter last September to complain about the conditions in the Mordovian prison she was sent to for her participation in the band's anti-Putin "punk prayer" in February 2012.

She said that her fellow inmates were treated as slaves and that the prison's deputy warden, Yury Kupriyanov, had threatened to kill her. She went on hunger strike for nine days and was transferred to a prison in the Krasnoyarsk region in November.

Kupriyanov sought 500,000 rubles ($14,000) from Tolokonnikova and a full retraction of her statement about conditions in the prison, but the Norilsk City Court dismissed the lawsuit, Agora said in a statement, Interfax reported Friday.

The court also rejected a similar lawsuit that the prison filed against Tolokonnikova.

She was released from the prison in Krasnoyarsk in December as part of an amnesty initiated by President Vladimir Putin.

Read more:

Hunger-Striking Pussy Riot Member Moved to Separate Cell

Pussy Riot Trio Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more