“There was lot of propaganda in the Russian media, which a lot of people believe,” the pair said in Russian, referring to the high-profile case against three members of the activist group who were jailed for staging a protest in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow last year.

The protest aimed to highlight the increasing ties between rising religiosity in Russia and the Putin government.

“On the other hand, people could see how far the authorities would go to silence us, and what dirty methods they can use to do it,” they added with a translator by their side.

Using the nicknames Shaiba and Serafima, the two women met the Swedish press and managed to deliver a message to Sweden’s EU Affairs Minister Birgitta Ohlsson.

“We ask you and everyone else to write letters and pose difficult questions whenever you meet a Russian politician,” the pair told the minister, according to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

“Human rights must be at the top of the agenda. It’s also important to visit prison camps if the opportunity comes up.”

TT/The Local/at

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