In recent months, several people and artists - as Refused, Paul McCartney and Björk - have supported the punk rock feminist trio, Pussy Riot, accused of hooliganism after playing a protest song in an Orthodox church in Russia, on February 21st, 2012.
The members of the group, Maria Alekhina, 24, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, sang "Punk Prayer" to criticize President Vladimir Putin.
On this Friday, August 17th, the Russian court sentenced the band to 2 years in jail (that includes the 5 months that the girls were in prision waiting for the final verdict), at an audition accompanied by hundreds of protesters on the outside. In fact, when the news was given, a man in the courtroom shouted "shame!".
Handcuffed in a glass-walled cage, the women reacted with laughter and rolled their eyes when the judge ordered the sentence after reading it for almost 3 hours.
Despite the incident, the support to the trio does not ceased. Immediately, it was created a section on the website Amnesty International where people around the world can send messages to the authorities of Russia.
Bands and artists such as Kate Nash, Krist Novoselic, Gallows and Tegan and Sara, also exposed, through Twitter, their feelings about what happened to the group.
And it doesn't took too long for Brody Dalle increase the list. She wrote:
Fuck you Putin , you're a tiny wiener
— Brody Dalle (@BrodyDalle) August 17, 2012
In reply to a fan, also on Twitter, Dalle said Putin is "afraid of women and words".
Taking advantage, on last Tuesday (14), was released a great Australian compilation consists of 20 bands that support the group. Click here to download it for free.
#FREEPUSSYRIOT