Pussy Riot member and activist Rita Flores has been sentenced to 20 days in jail following her arrest and detainment earlier this month, after engaging in a performance protest against police brutality on November 28.
The protest saw Flores and fellow activist group member Masha Alekhina dressed in traditional Russian folk costumes, as they tied artist Farhad Israfilli-Gelman to a lamp post in Manezhnaya Square. Named “Caution! Fragile!”, the protest also saw Israfilli-Gelman don a Russian riot police officer uniform, as a direct comment on the charges of “violence against a police officer”. The charge has been used questionably by authorities, according to the group, who deny any said violence and say it is a tactic instead used to stifle protests.
According to Flores’ attorney Mansur Gilmanov, Flores was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and prior to the arrest, the police cut off the electricity in her apartment. Despite appealing to The Tverskoy District Court, Flores was still sentenced to 20 days in jail. Alekhina was detained on December 1 and both Israfilli-Gelman and photographer Gleb Kuznetsov were served with administrative protocols for their involvement.
The arrest follows several other altercations and protests this year, which saw Pussy Riot members arrested during the group’s rainbow flag protest. Pyotr Verzilov was arrested in April for wearing a police uniform in his parody video about Moscow’s Coronavirus response. Police uniforms have long been used in Pussy Riot protests, going back to Verzilov and Nikulshina donning outfits for their protest at the 2018 World Cup, where they invaded the pitch to demonstrate against human rights abuses, police brutality, and corrupt authority.