Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the feminist punk band, Pussy Riot, listens from behind bars at a district court in Saransk on Friday, July 26, 2013. The court has rejected an appeal by a member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot against a previous court ruling that denied her an early release. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has served a year and a half out of her two-year prison sentence and was appealing for parole. Along with two other band members, she was convicted of hooliganism following Pussy Riot's punk performance against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral last year. (AP Photo) (Photo: )
Russian prison authorities confirmed Thursday that Pussy Riot punk band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who had not been heard from for more than three weeks, had been moved to a Siberian prison colony.
"Convict Tolokonnikova has arrived to the institution of the Russian prison service in the Krasnoyarsk region," the region's prison service said in a statement.
A spokesman for the service said a letter containing her more precise coordinates has been sent to her lawyer and that he was not authorised to give that information out.
Asked about Tolokonnikova's health, the spokesman told AFP it was "normal" but would not say whether she was in prison or the medical ward.
Russia's rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said on Tuesday that he had been informed that Tolokonnikova "has been placed (in the penal colony's) medical ward".
Tolokonnikova, 24, had been missing for 24 days after being moved out of her original prison colony in central Russia's Mordovia region. She had earlier published a letter in Russian media alleging prison abuse.
Her unusually long transfer had led rights groups to demand information.
Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov had earlier said he believed his wife was bound for Nizhny Ingash, a town in the taiga that lies on the Transsiberian railway about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from the regional centre Krasnoyarsk and four time zones away from Moscow.
Tolokonnikova and fellow band member Maria Alyokhina, who is being kept in the Ural region of Perm, will in March serve out their jail sentence for performing a "punk prayer" in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral protesting ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin.
Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the feminist punk band, Pussy Riot, listens from behind bars at a district court in Saransk on Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP Photo)
Jailed feminist punk band Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina appears on a TV screen during a live session with the court during a hearing of her appeal in a courtroom in Perm, 1200 kms (750 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Agafonov)
A Russian punk band Pussy Riot member, who gave only her stage name of Grelka, wearing a blue balaclava, speaks to the media in Moscow, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
An Amnesty International member holds a hand knitted Pussy Riot fan scarf to support the members of the Russian punk band, in Brussels on Sunday Feb. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
In this Aug. 17, 2012 file photo, feminist punk group Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sits in a glass enclosure at a court in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, File)
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the feminist punk band, Pussy Riot, listens from behind bars at a district court in Saransk on Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP Photo)
Member of the Pussy Riot punk band Yekaterina Samutsevich, in front of the Christ the Savior Cathedral, a year after their performance, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
In this Friday, April 26, 2013 file photo, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, listens from behind bars at a district court in Zubova Polyana, 440 kilometers (273 miles) southeast of Moscow, in Russia's province of Mordovia. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, file)
Headlights (L) and Puck (R) from 'Pussy Riot' speak at 'Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer' at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema on June 5, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
Amnesty International members hold their hand knitted Pussy Riot fan scarfs to support the members of the Russian punk band, in Brussels on Sunday Feb. 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
In this Feb. 21, 2012 file photo, members of the Russian radical feminist group Pussy Riot try to perform at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, File)
Member of the Pussy Riot punk band Yekaterina Samutsevich smiles as she attends a session at the Moscow City Court where she is appealing to overturn a court's decision to ban the video of the band's "punk prayer" in Moscow's main cathedral as "extremist", Russia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
In this Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 file photo, jailed feminist punk band Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina in a court room in the town of Berezniki, some 1500 km (940 miles) north-east of Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Agafonov, File)
Jailed feminist punk band Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina is seen in a cell at a court room in the town of Berezniki, some 1500 km (940 miles) north-east of Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Agafonov)
Jailed feminist punk band Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina, center, is escorted to a court room in the town of Berezniki, some 1500 km (940 miles) north-east of Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander Agafonov)
Headlights from 'Pussy Riot' speaks at the Q & A of 'Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer' at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema on June 5, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)
Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab join forces to recap the draft in the best way they know how: letter grades! Fitz and Frank discuss all 32 teams division by division as they give a snapshot of how fans should be feeling heading into the 2024 season. The duo have key debates on the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and more.
Atlanta Falcons first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. said quarterback Kirk Cousins called him after he was picked No. 8 overall in one of the 2024 NFL Draft's more puzzling selections.
This year, the Toyota Supra celebrates its 45th anniversary with a special edition, but otherwise remains a solid sports car with great looks and handling.
