Pussy Riot's Masha Alyokhina Arrested While Occupying Christmas Ball

Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina was one of 100 people detained after a protest in central Moscow Tuesday night. At the time of the arrest, Alyokhina was one of about 20 activists who were occupying a “giant Christmas ball” near the Red Square. Despite subzero temperatures, the activists spent most of the night in the ball before being dragged out and arrested.

The Guardian reports that the protesters were demonstrating in support of leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who’s been under house arrest since February and was recently handed a three and half year suspended sentence on fraud charges that are widely believed to be bullshit. (He was convicted of defrauding a French cosmetics company; a U.S. State Department spokesman criticized the case as “another example of the Russian government’s growing crackdown on independent voices.”) Navalny’s younger brother Oleg was also charged in the case and sentenced to three and a half years in prison, a move that’s seen by most Russians as revenge against his older brother.

Navalny broke house arrest to protest his brother’s imprisonment. He was almost immediately detained by police, driven home and barred from leaving his house. Meanwhile, Alyokhina and other activists climbed into the ball. From the Guardian:

Alyokhina live-tweeted most of the arrest, including this photo of the Kremlin from a prisoner transport vehicle. The caption reads “Most honest view of the Kremlin.”

Alyokhina also tweeted that the riot police had taken her passport and other documents from the protesters. They were freed after a few hours, but it’s unclear if their papers were ever returned. Again via the Guardian, here’s a video of the protesters inside the ball: