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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Adele, One Direction, Paul McCartney call for Pussy Riot jail release

Adele, Sir Paul McCartney, One Direction, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen have called for the members of Pussy Riot to be released from a Russian prison.

Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were found guilty of hooliganism on the grounds of religious hatred for performing a protest song at a Russian cathedral in 2012.


Samutsevich was released on appeal last October, but Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova remain jailed ahead of a parole hearing on Wednesday (July 24).

More than 100 artists have joined with Amnesty International in an open letter to declare that the fallout from Pussy Riot's "shockingly unjust trial and imprisonment has spread far and wide, especially among your fellow artists, musicians and citizens around the world".

U2, Billy Bragg, Coldplay, Ozzy Osbourne, Blondie's Debbie Harry, Sting, Eddie Vedder and Kate Nash have also joined the cause.


Notable human rights campaigners Bob Geldof and Yoko Ono have partnered with Amnesty International on behalf of Pussy Riot as well.

"I thank Pussy Riot for standing firmly in their belief for Freedom of Expression, and making all women of the world proud to be women," Ono said.

A full list of musicians supporting Pussy Riot can be found on Amnesty International's website.

Pussy Riot member Alyokhina recently went on a hunger strike over security concerns at her prison.

Her hunger strike lasted 11 days, until prison officials reportedly responded to her requests,

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