"This trial is another example of the Kremlin’s attempts to discourage and delegitimize dissent. It is likely to backfire."

 

Source:

John Dalhuisen, Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme

Date:

Fri, 17/08/2012

A Russian court's decision today to jail members of the punk rock protest band Pussy Riot is a bitter blow for freedom of expression in the country, Amnesty International said today.

Three members of the all-female group were convicted of “hooliganism on grounds of religious hatred” after they sang a protest song in Moscow’s main Orthodox cathedral in February.

The judge sentenced them to two years' imprisonment in a penal colony. The lawyers for the three said they were planning to appeal the decision.