Lawyer: Pussy Riot “may face physical harm and violence”

The defence lawyer for the Russian feminist punk bank, Pussy Riot, has said he is concerned for the wellbeing of the group who were jailed last week.

Nikolai Polozov, a member of the team defending the three band members told the Guardian: “For half a year, state-run television has built up a very negative image of them – that they’re blasphemers, heretics,” and “The only source of information in prisons is state-run TV.

“We have a serious basis to think they can be faced with physical harm, moral pressure and even violence.”

The website Freepussyriot.org was set up in support of the band, who have been praised for standing up for free speech. The site includes events to show solidarity, information and ways to donate to help support the women.

The band protested in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the capital’s main Orthodox church, in a political act against the Russian Orthodox Church leader’s support of President Vladimir Putin.

Each member of the band, two of whom have children, was sentenced to two years in prison by Judge Marina Syrova, who said the actions of the women had “crudely undermined social order” and that the court did “not trust” the testimony of the band members because it would be used as an attempt to “evade justice”.

Chris Bryant MP said via Twitter that Pussy Riot’s fate was proof that Putin’s Russia was a “regressive, oppressive kleptocracy”.

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