Pussy Riot Member To Be Sent To New Russian Prison

Russian prison officials say a jailed member of the punk rock protest band Pussy Riot will be transferred to another penal colony after spending nine days on a hunger strike.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who along with two other band members was convicted of hooliganism for a provocative performance in Moscow’s main Orthodox cathedral in 2012, went on a hunger strike in September to protest conditions in the prison where she is serving her two-year sentence. She was hospitalized nine days later when her health deteriorated.

The Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement Friday it will meet Tolokonnikova’s demand and move her to another prison “for her personal safety.”

Photo: AP Photo/File

listens from behind bars at a courtroom at a district court in Saransk.

Last month Tolokonnikova said prison officials have made threats against her for speaking out against the poor working conditions.