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Russia sends Pussy Riot women to camps east of Moscow

The pair lost their appeal in court earlier this month

Two convicted women from the Russian punk band Pussy Riot are on their way to two prison camps far from home, their lawyers and supporters say.

Conditions are reported to be tough at the camps, in Perm and Mordovia, east of Moscow. Those areas were used for mass prison colonies in the Soviet era.
Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were jailed for two years each in August for singing a crude anti-Kremlin song in a cathedral.
The jail sentence was widely condemned.
They were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" over the obscenity-laced "punk prayer" they performed in Moscow's main cathedral, Christ the Saviour, on 21 February.
Two lawyers and activists in the protest group Voina reported the young women's transfer to the camps, far to the east of Moscow, on Monday. Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov is a member of Voina.

• Russian women's prison camps: An ex-inmate's account

On Twitter the Pussy Riot group said on Monday: "At the weekend Nadya [Tolokonnikova] was sent on a special flight to Mordovia, while Masha [Alyokhina] was sent to Perm region. Those are cruellest camps of any that could have been chosen."

One of the lawyers, Mark Feigin, was quoted as saying "lawyer Violetta Volkova was told by phone in the SIZO [special prison] that the girls had been transported".
The authorities have not confirmed the women's transfer, nor is it clear which precise camps they will be housed in.
Alyokhina has a five-year-old son, Filipp, and Tolokonnikova has a four-year-old daughter, called Gera.
The Russian news website Newsru.com says both women are now quite far away from their families and fellow activists.
On 10 October the two women lost their appeal against the sentence, but a third - Yekaterina Samutsevich - was freed with a suspended jail sentence.
Last week the lawyers' plea for the two-year sentence to be deferred was rejected. They had argued that the women should not go to jail until their children had reached the age of 14.

Taken from BBC news

 

Colombia outclass Cameroon in soccer friendly 

Colombia’s fringe soccer players offered a reminder to coach Jose Pekerman of their capabilities after they convincingly beat a disorganized Cameroon team 3-0 in a friendly match Tuesday.
The hosts were missing most of their first-team stars in Barranquilla as Pekerman looked to experiment with some of his fringe players.
And the Argentine will be delighted with what he saw as the likes of Carlos Sanchez, Carlos Bacca, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Jackson Martinez all impressed for Los Cafeteros.
In all honesty their opponents offered little in the way of a goal threat and looked decidedly shaky in defence with Martinez and Bacca continually taking advantage of Cameroon's suicidal offside trap.
The two front men helped themselves to a goal apiece with Martinez scoring after 23 minutes following a sublime pass from Sanchez and Bacca taking advantage of some woeful defending to score on the hour mark. Substitute Dorlan Pabon scored a delightful chip 10 minutes from time to cap the victory.
Colombia created a host of chances throughout and considering they were without Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Teo Gutierrez it would have pleased Pekerman to see what options he has going into the vital second stage of World Cup qualification next year.
The hosts started off on the front foot and instantly displayed their attacking intentions when Freddy Guarin fired just wide from 18-yards.
As the half wore on the hosts upped the pressure and found it relatively easy to fashion chances due to the wide open spaces left at the back by Cameroon.
The visitors could have gone behind on several occasions when their shaky offside trap just managed to prevent a Colombia player from having a shot on goal.
However they failed to heed the warning and on 23 minutes fell behind.
Martinez, who had looked lively, timed his run to perfection, latching onto a chipped through ball from the impressive Sanchez and emphatically curling the ball into the roof of the net from six-yards out.
It was no less than the hosts deserved after completely dominating a first half where Cameroon failed to register a shot on target.
The second half took on a similar tone to the first and Colombia found themselves two goals ahead on 60 minutes after some awful defending from the visitors.
Following a straight forward cross from the right the ball somehow made its way to Bacca, who finished into the bottom corner from 10-yards.
Martinez then almost scored the goal of the night as his spectacular overhead kick flew narrowly over.
Pabon, who had come on as a second-half substitute, capped off a fine display from Colombia when he broke the offside trap before lifting the ball over the Colombian goalkeeper from just outside the box.

Taken from:  http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/sports/26535-colombia-outclass-cameroon-in-soccer-friendly.html