The Moscow City Court refused on Wednesday to release from a pretrial detention center two alleged members of shock punk rock band Pussy Riot that performed a “punk prayer” in Russia's main Orthodox cathedral last month.
Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who face up to seven years in prison on hooliganism charges, will remain under arrest until April 24. The defense promised to appeal.
The judge was biased because she was a target of a provocative stunt involving Tolokonnikova last year, said defense lawyer Nikolai Polozov. Tolokonnikova and several members of art group Voina released hundreds of cockroaches in a Moscow courtroom at a separate trial presided by the same judge as a form of protest.
The court decision triggered a backlash from rights activists, with Lev Ponomaryov from For Human Rights group denouncing the prolonged arrest as a “repressive” act.
In February, five masked members of Pussy Riot stormed the Christ the Savior Cathedral in downtown Moscow to perform a song next to the main altar, which is off-limits to all but priests, and then fled the building. Only two alleged performers have been detained so far.
Via

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Alexander Konovalov, Minister for Justice, Russia: Immediate release of Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova