By Lucy Papachristou
(Reuters) -Two young street musicians who were jailed for more than a month in Russia for singing anti-Kremlin songs have left the country after being released from detention, according to Russian media reports.
Vocalist Diana Loginova, 18, and guitarist Alexander Orlov, 22, were detained on October 15 in central St Petersburg after an impromptu street performance by their band Stoptime of the popular song “Swan Lake Cooperative” by exiled Russian rapper Noize MC – a vocal Kremlin critic – went viral on Russian social media. Stoptime’s drummer, Vladislav Leontyev, was also arrested.
Citing sources, St Petersburg newspaper Fontanka reported that Loginova left Russia after being released from custody on Sunday. Another source told the Kommersant daily both Loginova and Orlov were now outside the country. Neither outlet said where they are now.
Orlov and Loginova’s lawyer, Maria Zyryanova, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Loginova could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case against the musical trio garnered significant media attention in Russia, where public expressions of dissent are rare. Authorities have cracked down on any opposition to the Kremlin since Russia went to war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Singers who are critical of the authorities have fled the country and are cast as traitors by pro-Kremlin politicians. Many have been designated as “foreign agents”, a label which has Soviet-era connotations of espionage.
‘CAROUSEL ARRESTS’
The Stoptime trio have cycled in and out of Russian courts since their initial arrest in October, serving short jail stints for minor violations such as blocking access to the metro and petty hooliganism.
Loginova, a student at a music college, was also found guilty of “discrediting” the Russian army and fined 30,000 roubles ($379) for singing another anti-Kremlin song.
Rights groups refer to such arrests as “carousel arrests” – multiple busts for minor offences, with suspects being detained anew each time they are released.
Loginova and Orlov left detention on Sunday after finishing their most recent sentence, St Petersburg media outlets reported. The two got engaged during their cycle of incarceration, they told reporters in October.
Drummer Leontyev also served multiple short sentences and was released earlier this month.
Amnesty International had called for the musicians’ release, saying “their only ‘crime’ is singing songs that challenge the suffocating official narrative.”
Loginova’s mother Irina previously told reporters that she thought her daughter and her bandmates had done nothing wrong and did not know why their concerts had attracted so much attention from the authorities and the media.
($1 = 79.0955 roubles)
(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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