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TWO RELEASED MEMBERS members of protest punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were among those detained today in Russia following a courthouse protest. The members tweeted pictures of themselves from the police van.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in Manezhnaya Square today. (PA Image)
Protesters had gathered outside a court today to condemn the prison sentences handed down to seven people who took part in a 2012 protest against Vladimir Putin.
The high-profile case has become a symbol of the harsh crackdown on opposition protests since Putin returned to the Kremlin.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, center right, and Maria Alekhina, center left, outside a court room in Moscow today. (PA Image)
Guilty
The eight in the dock were found guilty of taking part in mass riots and hitting policemen at a rally against Putin’s inauguration to a third term as president.
Riot police detained over two hundred supporters who gathered outside the court today, some shouting slogans such as “Freedom” and “One for all, all for one!”
Most were released shortly after arriving at police stations.
People later gathered for an evening protest on Moscow’s central Manezhnaya square but the entire area was cordoned off with heavy police presence and interior troops, forcing people to crowd on sidewalks.
Several hundred stood near the parliament building nearby as police told them to leave through a loudspeaker and detained people in the crowd, an AFP correspondent said.
Police said 300 were “trying to violate public order” and 70 people had to be detained.
Amnesty International condemned the detentions, saying, “the Russian authorities’ rampant violation of freedom of expression and assembly shows no sign of letting up”.
The detention of the Pussy Riot members comes just days after the band members said they had been beaten and attacked with horsewhips during an action hostile to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Winter Olympics host city Sochi.
The scuffles came a day after the protest punk band’s members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were detained by police in the Russian Black Sea resort for several hours yesterday in connection with a theft case.
Additional reporting Associated Press and AFP
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Good product. Well done to them.
Brilliant good news story. Well done. Great to see you bringing the jobs back to dublin. Don’t be minding the begrudgers!
Ha. A unicorn that’s (last line) “trending aggressively to becoming a profitable company”!
@Adrian: only applies to the definition of its valuation not its profitability
@Adrian: Twitter has been around over 15 years and still hasn’t posted a profit. Profitability in Tech is not as important as in traditional businesses
@ForeverFeel1ng: You’re joking right? Twitter surviving for 15 years without making a profit hints that it’s being kept afloat for other reasons, just like loss making newspapers.
@ForeverFeel1ng: Said no investor ever. Twitter is being kept afloat like a newspaper making losses: it’s a great propaganda and political agitation tool.
Intercom, isn’t that a communication device used in shopping centres. A mic and a speaker. The simple things, eh! Wish I thought of it.
@Paddy O Sullivan: That’s a tannoy.
Very interesting and innovative business model!
Finally, a powerful, scalable, efficient, growth supporting, and cost effective management tool / business platform capable of capturing and pulling together all channels of communications between likely participators in the global marketplace seeking the particular product or service and the firm offering same.
Early days, but with 25,000 customers already contributing $50 mil in annual Revenues, outlook is excellent for Intercom. Tenfold increase in customer base is a distinct possibility, which would comfortably justify existing valuations mentioned. Clearly, with $241 m invested already, someone has lots of faith!
Congratulations to all concerned!
And btw what is it? A messaging service wow, probably a advanced data collection service. That’s were the money is, apparently. Well done Irish guys! You’ve sold your soul for a few bob.
@Paddy O Sullivan: Jesus you’re some begrudger. They’re making money and putting Ireland on the tech map globally. Selling their souls? Would you rather them be on the dole? They’re working.
@Paddy O Sullivan: Close…but no cigar. It is customer service software actually with plenty of uses. Instead of whinging about it familiarise yourself with the company and the software it provides
I’m a bit uncomfortable with these valuations on, thus far, unprofitable companies.
The FAANG companies are already responsible for a huge proportion of market valuations. I hope we’re not heading for another dotcom bubble.
I wouldn’t be investing in them, they are swelled with VC money, $50mil Revenue is peanuts and VC money will need to be paid back sometime. Their product is essentially a chatbox which is tiresome for website visitors and very expensive compared to free alternatives (Drift etc)
They will be bust in a couple of years, big valuation comes with a price… But hopefully they will make a lot of moneys for them self’s.
This is the type of homegrown success and entrepnurial spirit we need to foster.
have your say