Russian Supreme Court Orders Review of Pussy Riot Verdict
The Russian Supreme Court has ordered a formal review of the guilty verdicts issued to two jailed members of activist punk band Pussy Riot.
The court is questioning the sentences of Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who were convicted on charges of "religiously motivated hooliganism" in August of 2012. The women are currently serving out two-year sentences for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a Russian Orthodox church.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, there are two main issues the court is reviewing. The justices want concrete answers as to whether or not the lower court was actually able to prove "hatred" by the two women and if their status as mothers with young children was appropriately considered upon sentencing.
The court announced its decision to review the case on its official website. The statement said:
"The court did not provide any proof that Tolokonnikova, 24, and Alyokhina, 25, were motivated by hatred toward any social group in its verdict."
It also listed the ages of the jailed member's children (one is 5, the other 6), the lack of a criminal history for both women and the "non-violent nature of their illegal actions."
If the findings prove the women were unjustly handed out such severe sentencing for their crime, it is possible that they could be released under Kremlin amnesty.
A myriad of big-name musicians have spoken out against the sentencing of the musicians.
Most recently Radiohead, Adele, One Direction, Ke$ha and Ozzy Osbourne signed the ever-growing petition calling for the immediate release of the jailed members.
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