Russian Supreme Court rejects appeal against Pussy Riot verdict
MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - The Russian Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal against a verdict issued to the members of the Pussy Riot punk band in the trial over "hooliganism" at the Christ the Savior's Cathedral in Moscow.
The court has refused to pass the appeal filed by one of the band members, Yekaterina Samutsevich, to a court of cassation for consideration, the court spokesperson told Interfax on Tuesday.
In late February 2012 five young women performed the so-called punk prayer at the church in central Moscow. A video clip of their performance was put out on the Internet. Three of them - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Marina Alyokhina and Samutsevich - were later arrested by police.
In August 2012, they were found guilty of hooliganism and jailed for two years.
In October 2012, Moscow City Court overturned Samutsevich's initial verdict and released her on probation.
For Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova, the verdicts were upheld. Their sentences were due to expire in early March 2014, but the young women were released earlier, in December 2013, thanks to the amnesty announced by State Duma on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution.
