An 18-year-old Russian singer and her bandmate were arrested on Sunday in Saint Petersburg after performing anti-war songs in public, marking their third arrest in a month, reports TVP World.
The musicians, singer Diana Loginova (stage name “Naoko”) and guitarist Alexander Orlov of the band Stoptime, had just completed a 13-day administrative detention for organizing an unauthorized gathering when they were arrested again. Their latest arrest is the third since mid-October, when the group drew viral attention for their performance of the song “Swan Lake Cooperative”. The track, written by 40-year-old pro-Ukraine rapper Ivan Alexeiev (Noize MC), criticizes Putin’s regime and condemns public apathy towards Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The authorities are once again accusing the two of organizing an unauthorized event, while Loginova is facing an additional charge of “discrediting” the Russian army, reported the independent Russian publication The Moscow Times. The band’s drummer, Vladislav Leontiev, was reportedly released around midnight, after serving his second sentence. Loginova, who has denied any wrongdoing, got engaged to Orlov during the trial last month. She was previously fined 30,000 rubles (320 euros) for performing an anti-war song by an exiled musician, while another case with the same charge was sent back to the police for lack of details.