Thursday, August 23, 2012

Pussy Riot


I got this from Amnesty International.


http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=907&utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Informz


Tell Russia: Free Pussy Riot Now!
Last Friday, Russian authorities sentenced Maria Alekhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolonnikova to two years in a penal colony for exercising their right to Freedom of Expression. 
Click here now to demand their immediate release.
Authorities charged the women with hooliganism on grounds of "hatred, planned and committed by a group of people." Expert legal opinions accepted that although the action may have been offensive to some, there was no evidence that the women had aimed at inciting hatred.
Say what you will about Pussy Riot: this may not be your kind of music. Some people find their shows offensive.
But it doesn't change the facts: Since March, these young women have been in jail and kept from their families, including small children, and they now face two years imprisonment - all because of a peaceful protest song that lasted less than a minute. Even if the performance was calculated to shock and cause offense, the activists left the Cathedral when requested and caused no damage.
The European Court of Human Rights states that freedom of expression applies not only to inoffensive ideas, but "also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population".
Amnesty International now considers Pussy Riot to be Prisoners of Conscience, and we won't give up on them.
Act now: Tell the Russian authorities to release Pussy Riot immediately!
Thank you,
Amnesty International

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