Member of Pussy Riot Moved to Isolation Cell

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who has begun a hunger strike in jail, was reportedly moved for her own safety

A jailed member of the punk band Pussy Riot has been moved to an isolation cell for her own safety, prison authorities in Russia say.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova on Monday announced she had started a hunger strike to protest against the conditions in her penal colony.

But the prison service denied her solitary confinement was a punishment.

Tolokonnikova and another band member were jailed after performing a crude song in a Moscow cathedral.

Their act was regarded as blasphemous by many Russians, but their prosecution caused an international outcry.