Pussy Riot to launch human rights appeal

25 Oct 2012, 1:19 pm   -   Source: AAP

Jailed Pussy Riot stars Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina are taking their fight for freedom to the European Court of Human Rights.

Jailed Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina are taking their fight for freedom to the European Court of Human Rights.

The two women were sentenced to two years in prison by a Moscow judge in August for performing a protest song against President Vladimir Putin at a cathedral in February.

They were transported to remote prison camps at the weekend to serve out the sentences but they plan to appeal to one of the highest courts in Europe.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a third member who was freed on appeal earlier this month, has told the rock magazine NME: "My sentence still stands, I haven't been pardoned. We're all unquestionably considered guilty. We're all going to submit documents to the European Court."

The trio's jail term sparked outrage in the West and led to calls for their freedom from stars including Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, and Bjork. Samutsevich is convinced she was freed as a result of the international pressure.

"It's possible it was a sort of surrender by the authorities, thanks to all the global support," she says.

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