Russian punk’s husband: ‘Jail move is punishment’

The husband of Russian punk star Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has accused officials of moving her to a remote prison colony as a punishment for publicly slamming jail conditions. Russian Federal Penitentiary Service bosses have confirmed the Pussy Riot member was relocated, but her exact whereabouts have not been revealed.
Tolokonnikova’s husband Petya Verzilov has now spoken out to insist she has been moved to a remote facility in Siberia, alleging the relocation is punishment for her outspoken criticism of prison conditions.
He tells Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, “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. So they have chosen this as the punishment instead.”
Tolokonnikova was imprisoned with her bandmates Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich last year (12) for their controversial protest performance against Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Moscow church.
Samutsevich was freed in October, 2012 when her sentence was commuted while Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are due to be released in March (14).