Pussy Riot member transferred to Siberia, family not notified of move

Having been previously reported “missing” by her family, jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is said to have been moved to a detention unit in Siberia without her loved ones’ prior knowledge.

The move, her husband says, is likely to be a form of punishment. ”They do not have the ability to put on the usual psychological or physical pressure they can use with inmates because of the high profile of the case,” Petya Verzilov told reporters. “So they have chosen this as the punishment instead.”

Last year, three members of the punk band were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and were sentenced to two years in jail following the performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The song requested that the Virgin Mary drive Russian president Vladimir Putin from power.

Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24 and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, have been named prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. Samutsevich was released last October.

[via The Guardian]