Jailed artist/punk Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has disappeared without a trace, for nearly two weeks. In a scenario mirroring the arrest and detention of the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, the whereabouts of the artist is unknown. She demanded to be moved from the Russian prison colony where she was incarcerated following death threats. Her husband revealed that she had gone on a hunger strike in September protesting the culture of “slave labour conditions” in the Mordovia prison.
Pyotr Verzilov Tolokonnikova’s husband said that their had been no word from the artist since she left the camp, on October 22 some 250 miles from Moscow. “We have not heard from Nadezhda for 13 days now,” Verzilov, the leader of the art group Voina announced. “We believe that the prison service has chosen this peculiar method to punish her.”
Tolokonnikova along with Maria Alyokhina another band member was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after performing a protest song in a Moscow church, in February 2012. A third band member was released on appeal. Pussy Riot’s performance was regarded as blasphemous by Russian officials, who used her to set an example. Their prosecution caused an international outcry which has kept their cause fresh in the news for the last year..