Pussy Riot say Cossacks beat them with whips in Sochi
Members of the all-women Russian protest group Pussy Riot said they were beaten with whips on Wednesday by Cossacks who are helping patrol Sochi during the Winter Olympics.
|Last Updated: Feb 19, 2014, 11:19 PM IST|Source: Reuters
SOCHI: Members of the all-women Russian protest group Pussy Riot said they were beaten with whips on Wednesday by Cossacks who are helping patrol Sochi during the Winter Olympics.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who served prison sentences over a protest in a church against President Vladimir Putin, said they were attacked in Sochi as five band members tried to perform a song.
"Under the banner Sochi 2014, to the sound of "Putin will teach us to love the homeland", Cossacks attacked Pussy Riot, beat us with whips and sprayed a lot of pepper gas at us," Tolokonnikova wrote on Twitter.
A still photograph showed a Cossack about to strike the women, dressed in their customary brightly coloured ski masks, short dresses and tights. Some of them were unmasked by the Cossacks.
Alyokhina tweeted photographs of blood dripping down the face of a supporter after the attack. Another showed red marks across Tolokonnikova`s chest.
David Khakim, an activist who was briefly detained over a one-man protest in Sochi this week, said he had witnessed the attack.
"The Cossacks sprayed gas in my eyes. They started beating us with whips after which they started choking us in front of a police officer," he wrote on Twitter.
Cossack leaders were not immediately available for comment.
Cossack patrolmen, who have enjoyed a revival under Putin, are being used to enforce security around the Olympic Games. Neither part of the police nor military, Cossacks, once the patrolmen of the Russian borderlands, are meant to maintain order and work with police to make arrests.
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were detained on suspicion of theft in Sochi on Tuesday but were later released, less than two months after their release from prison under an amnesty.
The pair had been serving two-year jail terms for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred after performing a profanity-laced protest song against Putin in Moscow`s main cathedral in February 2012.
Western governments said the sentences were disproportionate, and Kremlin critics called the trial part of a clampdown on dissent during Putin`s third presidential term.
Tolokonnikova said she and Alyokhina had also been detained for seven hours on Sunday and for 10 hours on Monday, though their presence in Sochi had not been advertised.
Putin has staked his reputation on the Sochi Games, hoping they would show the world Russia`s modern face more than two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.