ECHR Declares Pussy Riot Complaint Admissible

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has declared a complaint of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich admissible.

The ECHR has prepared 7 questions to the respondent, according to reports of ITAR-TASS, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).

Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina, and Samutsevich filed a complaint with the ECHR on June 19, 2012 over their treatment while on trial in Moscow in 2012.

Lawyers for the three Pussy Riot members demanded that the Russian government be found guilty of breaching four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, namely the ones on the freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial.

The three members of Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism and sentenced to two years in prison over their 'punk prayer' act in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in March 2012.

Samutsevich was released under a suspended sentence in October 2012.

Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were released Monday under an amnesty signed by President Vladimir Putin to mark the 20th anniversary of the current Russian Constitution.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!