Yesterday a Russian court decided to uphold this decision, reports
RT.com. To date, there has only been one successful appeal – that of Ekaterina Samutsevich who was freed on probation in Oct. 2012.
Alyokhina was sentenced to two years in prison along with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich last Aug. for their participation in a performance protest. The women were charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for their "Mother of God drive Putin away’" performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, Feb. 2012, reports
RT.com.
On Tuesday Amnesty International publicized an
open letter signed by U2, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and over 100 musicians in support of the release of imprisoned Pussy Riot members.
In an interview with
The Guardian, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s deputy program director, had this to say about Wednesday’s verdict, “[the ruling is] further confirmation that the Russian authorities are uncompromising in their suppression of freedom of expression.”
Alyokhina is now scheduled to remain in prison until March 2014, as is Tolokonnikova. Both Pussy Rioters are mothers to five-year-olds and have pleaded for deferred sentences – until the children are older. Irina Khrunova, Alyokhina’s lawyer, says she will continue the appeal, reports
The Guardian.
To learn more about events that lead to the Pussy Riot arrests, see HBO Documentary, “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,” as reported by
Digital Journal.
