Second jailed Pussy Riot member denied parole appeal

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova will serve another year in a prison colony

Imprisoned member of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, has had her parole appeal rejected.

The news follows a similar parole appeal denial for fellow jailed Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina from earlier in the week. Currently 12 months into her two year sentence, Tolokonnikova appealed for parole in order to look after her young daughter. However, she will continue to spend the next year in a prison colony in Russia’s central Urals region.

Her appeal for parole was denied as representatives of the colony said she had not repented after being convicted of hooliganism following Pussy Riot’s ‘punk prayer’ protest, reports Billboard. Tolokonnikova told the court: “I do not admit guilt and will not plead guilty. I have principles upon which I will stand.”

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Earlier this year Maria Alyokhina went on hunger strike after being denied permission to attend her initial parole hearing, claiming her fundamental rights were violated. This week, an appeals court in Perm looked at Alyokhina’s appeal against the decision to deny her parole, which was made two months ago. The decision was upheld.

Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova are serving two year sentences for breach of public order motivated by religious hatred. The sentences were handed to them in August 2012 after the band performed their now infamous ‘punk prayer’ protest against President Vladimir Putin at the Cathedral of Christ The Savior in Moscow in February 2012.

Renowned figures in the music and film industries have pledged their support to Pussy Riot with the likes of Madonna and Sir Paul McCartney both appealing to Putin to secure their release. A third member of the group, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was also imprisoned but had her sentence suspended in October of last year.

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