MOSCOW, Nov 25: An 18-year-old Russian street musician who was arrested for singing anti-war songs has been released from jail and fled the country, a source involved in the case told AFP on Monday.
Diana Loginova, a music student known by the stage name Naoko, was arrested last month and sentenced to three consecutive short-term jail sentences.
Her performances of songs by exiled Russian artists Monetochka and Noize MC in Saint Petersburg went viral.
‘Russian Kitchen Day’ at Radisson Hotel Kathmandu
Loginova's case gained attention at home and abroad as an example of Russia's crackdown on opposition to the Kremlin and those who speak out against the offensive in Ukraine.
She had been caught up in what rights lawyers call the "carousel", a practice whereby prosecutors lay a string of minor charges against defendants to keep them in constant custody.
"Diana Loginova has left Russia," a source close to the case told AFP on Monday, without elaborating, following reports in local media that she had been released and fled abroad.
A flurry of videos supporting Loginova and her band Stoptime have flooded TikTok since her release, while other young street performers have expressed solidarity in public, despite the risks of fines or jail sentences themselves.
She had been jailed on charges of disrupting public order, discrediting the Russian army and organising a mass gathering.
There were fears she was being kept in jail while prosecutors built a case for more serious charges.
Russia banned criticism of the army shortly after launching its full-scale military offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, and has detained thousands.
_20221116071709.jpeg)
