Support The Moscow Times!

No Bail for Art Provocateurs

A St. Petersburg court has refused to grant bail to two activists with the radical art group Voina held on hooliganism charges for flipping over police cars as part of a performance in September, Interfax reported.

Prominent British graffiti artist Banksy held a special sale of his works last month, donating proceeds to bail out Leonid Nikolayev and Oleg Vorotnikov, but the judge refused to free them from pretrial detention on bail of 2 million rubles ($66,000) each, citing a lack of information about the person providing the money.

The judge also said Nikolayev might pressure witnesses in the case. No witnesses have been identified publicly, although some of the flipped police cars had officers in them.

Nikolayev and Vorotnikov face up to seven years in prison on hooliganism charges. 

(MT)

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more