JOIN USThe sole member of anti-Kremlin punk group Pussy Riot freed on appeal has taken her case to the European Court of Human Rights, her lawyer said on Friday, accusing Russia of violating her right to freedom of speech and illegally detaining her.
Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, was one of three band members sentenced to two years in jail in August for belting out a profanity-laced song against President Vladimir Putin in a cathedral in a case that sparked an international outcry.
She was freed on appeal on October 10 after six months behind bars after her lawyer successfully argued she had not actually taken part in the protest because she had been stopped and led away before it took place.
Lights out as Egypt plans to pull plug on all night shopping Nadal confirmed for Mexican Open in February Irina Khrunova, a lawyer acting on her behalf, told Reuters on Friday that Samutsevich had lodged a complaint with the Strasbourg court claiming her rights had been violated during the six months she spent in pre-trial detention.
“Her rights were violated when she wasn't given food or (allowed to) sleep," said Ms Khrunova. "She was held in a small room without being fed for hours.”
A defiant Ms Samutsevich said in a recent interview that Pussy Riot had “achieved more than our goal” by igniting a public debate about the close ties between the Russian state and the Orthodox Church.