Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina 'escapes' Russia despite exit ban from officials over UK trip

Ms Alyokhina is scheduled to take part in a series of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe festival

Maria Alyokhina arrested in April outside of Russian security service HQ for protesting against ban on the Telegram encrypted messenger. (twitter/@pussyrrriot)

A day after being denied boarding and told of an exit ban by local officials, Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina has apparently managed to leave Russia.

According to the punk collective’s Twitter account, Ms Alyokhina had “found a way to escape” and was "flying to Edinburgh." She is scheduled to take part in a series of shows in the Edinburgh Fringe festival based on her book, Riot Days.

On Wednesday, the activist performer was told by border guards at Moscow’s Domodedovo’s airport that she would not be allowed to leave the country. She had been attempting to board a plane to London.

According to court authorities, Ms Alyokhina had been temporarily denied the right to leave the country since she had failed to perform community service.

In April, the performer was arrested outside the headquarters of the FSB, Russia’s security agency, while taking part in a protest against the ban on messenger service Telegram. A judge sentenced her to 100 hours of community service. But Ms Alyokhina apparently ignored the sanction, and a fine of 400,000 rubles (£4,700) was later added to her sentence.

Ms Alyokhina is best known for her role in her 2012 anti-Putin “punk protest,” performed inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Together with fellow Pussy Riot activist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, she spent nearly two years in high-security prison for her efforts.

It is unclear how Ms Alyokhina managed to circumvent the order to keep her in Russia.