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Pussy Riot appeal adjourned for a week

By | Published on Tuesday 2 October 2012

Pussy Riot

The appeal hearing into the case of the Pussy Riot three was adjourned in Moscow yesterday in a dispute over defence lawyers.

As much previously reported, three members of the Russian punk outfit were jailed in August for two years after being found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” in relation to an anti-government protest song the defendants performed in a Moscow cathedral earlier this year. It’s widely believed the conviction and sentencing was politically motivated.

All three of the convicted band members – Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich – were in court yesterday. However, before the hearing could get going, Samutsevich reportedly argued with the judge, complaining that her request for a different defence lawyer had been ignored. The dispute led to the case being adjourned to 10 October.

As also previously reported, opinion is divided regards the chances of the three women being freed on appeal. Some hope that recent comments by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the effect that a suspended sentence would be satisfactory might mean that, even if the convictions are not overturned, the Pussy Riot members may be let out of jail. But reps for the three women have generally been less optimistic.



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