Trial of Russian Punk Rockers
Three Russian feminist rockers rejected charges of hooliganism for performing a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s main cathedral against Vladimir Putin’s return as president as a trial against them opened in earnest on Monday. The charges could carry a punishment of up to seven years in prison.
The three members of the Pussy Riot band - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 - have been in custody for five months since their February stunt. Their prosecution has caused a sharp public divide and drawn protests from rights groups who have declared them prisoners of conscience.