Russian Authorities Acquit, Rearrest Pussy Riot Members

Members of the Russian punk protest group Pussy Riot were arrested immediately after they walked out of a Moscow pretrial detention center on July 30. Activists Veronika Nikulshina, Olga Kuracheva, and Olga Pakhtusova spent 15 days in custody for storming the pitch at the soccer World Cup final in Moscow. Another Pussy Riot member, Pyotr Verzilov, was also detained upon his release from a different Moscow detention center on the same day. Pakhtusova said via Twitter that authorities had accused the activists of breaking the law on public gatherings.