Pussy Rioters Stuck In Jail

Despite a plea from Amnesty International and their threat of going on a hunger strike, three members of “punk protest group” Pussy Riot appear likely to remain in jail until April 24.

They’ll then face a Moscow court on charges of “disorderly conduct.”

The international human rights organisation urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to release the women, who were arrested after staging a protest in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral Feb. 21.

Mariya Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were arrested within days of their anti-Putin protest, which involved dressing up in masks and singing “Hail Mary, drive Putin out.” Catherine Samutsevich was arrested March 16.

Amnesty cites the European Court of Human Rights convention that recognises that their protest is protected by the right to freedom of expression.

Toomas Ilves, president of former Soviet satellite Estonia, criticised the Russian authorities’ actions as he delivered the opening address of this year’s Tallinn Music Week March 30.

Ilves showed a link to the performance that got the girls arrested during part of his speech relating to rock music as a protest and the value of the freedom to make such protests.

He said that under Russian law they could face as much as seven years in jail.

Violetta Volkova, Pussy Riot’s lawyer, says the court’s decision to continue holding the girls is “unfair” and also vowed to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

She said the families of the arrested women have been getting death threats since the police posted their personal information online.

On March 31, Pussy Riot’s supporters hired a bus to tour Moscow to draw attention to the ways the members are being treated.