One year ago, the band Pussy Riot performed a protest song and posted a video of it online. Two members are still in a brutal prison camps, and their videos have been relentlessly censored from the Russian internet. We must stop this.
The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear an appeal from Pussy Riot. Tell the Court that there is no time to delay! This court has the power to save these women's lives and defend human rights in Russia. They must act immediately before it is too late.
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Recently, a Russian court ordered that all Pussy Riot videos be banned from the internet, because they are "extremist."
What is truly extreme here is the government’s disregard for free speech and these women’s safety. Earlier this month one of the incarcerated members of the band was hospitalized due to the inhumane work conditions that she suffers every day. Sources close to her say that -- unless her conditions improve -- she may die in prison for the simple crime of speaking out against her government.
Everyone on the internet needs to take action now. The lives of two activists are at stake, as is the future of freedom of expression in Russia and around the world. Governments need to know that they can't get away with this stuff. Let's harness the power of the Internet to demand our rights. The European Court of Human rights will be hearing an appeal on this case. Now is our chance to stop this injustice.
Below is the video of the protest song that Pussy Riot has been persecuted for. Share this video widely on YouTube. Do whatever you can to make sure it is seen everywhere in Russia and around the world. We refuse to allow these women's voices to be censored.
From FreePussyRiot.org
Pussy Riot is an anonymous Russian feminist performance art group formed in October 2011. Through a series of peaceful performances in highly visible places, the group has given voice to basic rights under threat in Russia today, while expressing the values and principles of gender equality, democracy and freedom of expression contained in the Russian constitution and other international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the CEDAW Convention.
Detained members of the art group Pussy Riot: Maria Alekhina, age 24. Poet and student at the Institute of Journalism and Creative Writing. Mother of a 5 year-old boy. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, age 23. Visual artist and 4th year Philosophy student. Mother of a 4 year-old girl. Ekaterina Samucevich FREED! , age 30. Visual artist. Has a degree from The Alexander Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia in Moscow. Nadia and Masha are serving 2 years on charges of “hooliganism” for their 1-minute performance on February 21, 2012 in a priests-only section of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The investigator’s report claims the performance was an act of religious hatred. The intention of the performance was to draw attention to the special relationship between President Putin and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The police were instructed to arrest the group’s known members a week after an edited video of the performance appeared on Youtube. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has recently made clear its intentions to hear a complaint registered by the defense team about how the trial was organized in the Moscow Khamovnichesky Court.
This is a campaign of Fight for the Future and the Center for Rights.
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