var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};
Members of the Russian feminist punk rock activist group Pussy Riot today were on the scene in Sochi, preparing to perform, when actual Cossacks came up and horsewhipped, beat, and pepper-sprayed them.
Cossacks are militia forces used by Russian National Police to maintain order.
Members of Pussy Riot, some freshly released after being arrested just yesterday on likely false charges of hotel theft (reportedly, nine to 40 others were arrested on similar charges, including some journalists) were attempting to perform outside an Olympic venue hours ago.
LOOK: ‘We Were Beaten’ By Russian Police Says Pussy Riot Member Upon Release (Video)
As you can see in this video, the Cossacks descended upon the band members and horsewhipped them after pepper-spraying their eyes.
Russian Police came later, and did nothing.
“They were whipped and pepper sprayed,” says Hunter Heaney of The Voice Project, according to Billboard.com. “Their ski masks were removed and Peter [Verzilov], Nadya’s husband, was taken to the hospital where his eyes are being checked for pepper spray damage.”
Verzilov confirms that Cossacks violently pulled off Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova’s ski mask, knocked her down and attacked her with a horse whip as she lay on the ground. They also assaulted other members, smashing a guitar and throwing it in the trash.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said Wednesday that “venues are not the places to have demonstrations.”
Stay tuned – this is a developing story.
//www.youtube.com/embed/oXWlQxUNFLY