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Russian Dissident Art Group Members Detained In Prague


Members of a Russian dissident art collective have been detained in Prague.

A founding member of the group Voina (War), Oleg Vorotnikov, his wife and fellow activist, Natalya Sokol, and their daughter were detained on September 18.

Sokol, who along with her daughter was released on September 19, told RFE/RL that her husband remained in custody and could face extradition to Russia.

There was no immediate comment from Czech authorities.

The couple fled Russia in 2011 for Europe after Russian authorities launched investigations against them, defining one of their latest public actions as hooliganism. Both are wanted in Russia.

They have lived in several European countries since then but failed to get political asylum in any of them.

Voina became famous across Russia and beyond for stunts like painting a giant phallus on a drawbridge facing the St. Petersburg headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and overturning police cars.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

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