Jailed Pussy Riot Member Ends Hunger Strike
After 11 days and a move to her prison colony's hospital, Maria Alyokhina, one of the jailed members of Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, has ended her hunger strike.
The activist and musician began the strike on May 22nd after a Russian court refused to allow her to attend her own parole hearing. According to the BBC, Alyokhina also accused prison officials of trying to turn other inmates against her by staging a severe security lock-down at the prison before her parole hearing.
Despite her protests, Alyokhina was denied parole at the hearing. Her bandmate, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, experienced a similar fate when she was denied parole in April.
Both women are serving two-year sentences for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after performing a "punk prayer" to protest Russian president Vladimir Putin in February of 2012.
Pyotr Verzilov, the husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, told Agence France-Presse that Alyokhina's health was "satisfactory" and that her demands in regards to the security crackdown at the prison colony had been met. He said that the padlocks placed (after the security lock-down) on the buildings where Alyokhina's fellow inmates work had been removed.
"Maria said that the prison administration took her on a special tour of the colony, to show her that her demands have been met," Verzilov said.
The BBC is also reporting that Alyokhina previously spent five month in solitary confinement after the musician claimed she was purposefully put into cells with hardened criminals that were encouraged to intimidate her.
Even a handwritten plea by Sir Paul McCartney couldn't keep this story from getting even sadder…
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