Maria Tikhnova, 23, was detained on March 25 in Minsk. She was walking along Independence Avenue near Nina Bahinskaya, who is a famous activist. The girl was sentenced to 15 days in jail.
The brutal detention of the girl was caught on video while Nina Bahinskaya was giving an interview. It shows a riot policeman running up to Maryia from behind and grabbing her by the neck. The reason was probably a professional camera in the hands of the girl.
Maria Tikhonova came to Minsk from Moscow to shoot material with Nina Bahinskaya for her term paper. She is a fourth-year student at the Institute of Modern Arts, majoring in Film and Television Directing.