Pussy Riot leader who fled from Russia is now in Lithuania

Pussy Riot leader who fled from Russia is now in Lithuania

Maria Alyotsjina, the well-known activist of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot who fled Russia on Tuesday, turns out to be in Lithuania. She was able to escape despite being under police surveillance, her lawyer reported. She first escaped house arrest by disguising herself as a delivery man, then fled to Lithuania with the help of friends via Belarus, she describes in an interview with The New York Times.

33-year-old Alyotsjina, who is seen as the leader of Pussy Riot, is now in a secret location in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. According to her, the fact that she managed to escape shows how chaotic the situation in Russia is at the moment, she said in the same interview with the American newspaper.

Alyochina was arrested in February and placed under surveillance. It was yet another move by the Russian government against a member of the group that is extremely critical of those in power in the Kremlin.

Alyochina had previously called for demonstrations in front of an imprisoned opponent of the regime, Alexei Navalni. Shortly afterwards, she went on a hunger strike. In 2012, she was sentenced to two years in prison for protesting against President Vladimir Putin in a church with a so-called punk prayer.

The Russian rulers placed several members of Pussy Riot on a list of so-called foreign agents to intimidate them and limit their influence, the opposition said.

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