Pussy Riot needs your support - text and stand up for free speech

17 August 2012 - Two-year sentence announced. This action is now closed. 

Nadezhda, Maria and Ekaterina have been sentenced two years service in a penal colony, after Moscow City Court found them guilty of 'hooliganism on grounds of religious hatred'.

We believe the three women are victims of a persecution campaign designed by Russian authorities to trample free speech. We will not stop campaigning for Pussy Riot. Please let them know their fight for free speech is not in vain: send your message of support to Pussy Riot

Detained for 'hooliganism'

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Nadezhda, Maria and Ekaterina, three alleged members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, were put on trial on 30 July 2012 on charges of for 'hooliganism'. Their crime? Performing a gig in a church.

They have been held in Moscow police cells since their arrest in March, denied access to their families – including their young children. In July, the Moscow City Court ruled to extend their detention by another six months on the grounds that the women committed a serious crime, and may abscond if granted bail.

Pussy Riot's 'punk prayer' and anarchist lyrics might not be everyone's cup of tea, but the Russian authorities' enthusiasm to silence, harass and detain the women is an indisputable violation of their right to free speech.

We believe that Nadezhda, Maria and Ekaterina are prisoners of conscience, and are calling for their immediate release. Find out more about Pussy Riot

Want to help show the Russian authorities that we won't stand for their targeted and unsubstantiated detention of the three young women? You're in the right place.

Text for free speech straight from your mobile

Don't let Pussy Riot's campaign for free speech be in vain. Show Nadezhda, Maria and Ekaterina that the world is watching, by texting them your message of support.

Text ACTION22, followed by your message of support and your name to 88080

Under 18? So that we can ensure you receive appropriate communications, please include your date of birth in the following format: DD/MM/YYYY (e.g. ACTION7 Joe Bloggs 01/01/1900).

*Texts charged at standard network rate. Please ask bill-payers permission. To unsubscribe, text STOP AMNESTY to 70004 at any time. See full terms and conditions

What happens to your text?

Take action by text and we’ll add your name, but not your phone number, to the letter below which we’ll fax to Moscow authorities overseeing the women's detention.

I am writing to you to ask you to drop the charges of hooliganism against Maria Alekhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and immediately and unconditionally release them.

I believe that Maria, Ekaterina and Nadezhda have been detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and as such are prisoners of conscience. It is your duty to respect free speech and comply with international human rights law by releasing them immediately and unconditionally.

I also request that you promptly, fully and impartially investigate the allegations that the three arrested women have been pressured by members of the Centre of the Fight with Extremism and other officials.

Contact details for the Moscow officials overseeing the case are listed in the Pussy Riot casesheet PDF at the very bottom of this post.

Pussy Riot - the backstory

Why are Nadezhda, Maria and Ekaterina awaiting a trial that could see them serving prison sentences of up to seven years?

Quite simply, this:

The three women, all in their twenties, are alleged to have donned neon balaclavas and performed as part of Pussy Riot at this gig in February. But they are allegations only - Pussy Riot is a collective identity; the need for the women to cover their faces indicative of the hostile treatment they've received from Moscow's authorities.

In Pussy Riot's own words:

"one of the reasons we choose to always wear balaclavas [is that] new members can join the bunch and it does not really matter who takes part in the next act - there can be three of us or eight, like in our last gig on the Red Square, or even 15."

Since the band came together in September last year, Pussy Riot has performed impromptu gigs in public places ranging from Moscow buses and Metro stations, to the symbolic Red Square. But it was their February performance of 'Virgin Mary, redeem us of Putin' in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral that led to their arrest. The song calls on the Virgin Mother to embrace feminism, shun Putin, and cut ties between the state and the church.

Whether or not they push your musical buttons, it's indisputable that Pussy Riot - as a collective, or any number of individuals - has a legitimate right to freely criticise its government. International human rights law absolutely outlaws restrictions on free speech when they are based purely on the notion that others may find the content offensive - regardless of the beat behind the message, or where it's played.