Appeal of Russian actors and artists for the release of Pussy Riot

For freepussyriot.org (currently under DDoS attack): 37,000 (and growing) people have signed on to a letter drafted and signed by over two hundred leading cultural figures from Russia to demand the release for the detained members of Pussy Riot. The website Echo Moskvy continues collecting signatures.

Here is an english translation : Appeal of Russian actors and artists On 20 June 2012 the Tagansky court in Moscow extended the detention of the members of Pussy Riot band. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Ekaterina Samutsevich have been imprisoned since March 2012 for their “Punk Prayer” performance at the Temple of the Christ the Savior on 21 February 2012. They were unlawfully charged under the Article 213, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and face up to 7 years in prison.

We, the undersigned, have various opinions about the moral and ethical side of the Pussy Riot “Punk Prayer” performance in the Temple of the Christ the Savior, however:

• We believe that the performance does not constitute a criminal offense. The detained women have never killed or robbed anyone, committed violence, or destroyed or stole someone else’s property. The Russian Federation is a secular state, and anti-clerical action - if they do not fall under the articles of the Criminal Code - must not entail criminal prosecution.

• We believe that the criminal case against Pussy Riot compromises the Russian justice system and undermines the credibility of the institutions of power in general. While the arrested band members are in custody, there is a growing atmosphere in Russian society of intolerance that leads to its division and radicalization.

• We see no legal basis or practical justification for further isolation of these young women from the society, as they do not pose any danger, especially because two of them are young mothers.

• We are convinced that Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Ekaterina Samutsevich must be released from the custody, and their criminal charges must be dropped or re-classified as administrative.