Russian band Pussy Riot temporarily held in Switzerland
Two members of Russian activist band Pussy Riot
Keystone / Expa/johann Groder
Members of Pussy Riot, an anti-Kremlin feminist punk band, say they were temporarily detained in Bern on Monday night for spraying anti-war graffiti on a wall.
The incident involved three Russian women aged 25, 26 and 34, Ramona Mock from Bern cantonal police told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. She did not confirm that they were members of Pussy Riot. For reasons of data protection, the police did not give any further details.
Mock explained how the police went to Wabern, a municipality of Bern, on Monday evening because of a report that several people were spraying graffiti. Three women carrying spray cans were stopped and taken to the police station for further investigation. They were released after questioning, Mock said.
It is not yet clear whether criminal charges will be brought. That is at the discretion of the property owner, Mock said. It is not known who owns the spray-painted wall.
The band are set to play in Rubigen, just outside the Swiss capital, on Tuesday night as part of a European tour.
Pussy Riot said on social media that the graffiti campaign against the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not limited to Bern. The band is also carrying out the action in other European cities where it performs.
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