KRASNOYARSK, November 15 (RIA Novosti) – The husband of jailed Russian punk rocker Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said Friday he hopes to see her next week at a prison in Siberia, after having been unable to contact her for nearly a month.
Pyotr Verzilov told RIA Novosti that he had spoken by phone with his wife, who reportedly said she is in good health but is undergoing routine medical tests.
Prison authorities at the penitentiary in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region confirmed Thursday that Tolokonnikova had arrived, ending long speculation over her whereabouts.
Tolokonnikova was transferred from a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia last month after launching hunger strikes in protest against prison conditions.
She then disappeared for nearly a month, during which time authorities declined to confirm her location and relatives said they were unable to contact her, prompting outrage and concern about Tolokonnikova’s safety until she resurfaced this week.
The 24-year-old member of the punk band Pussy Riot is serving a two-year sentence for participating in an anti-Kremlin performance in a Moscow cathedral in 2012. She is due to be released next March.
