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Legal
McCartney again calls for the release of jailed Pussy Riot two
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 23 May 2013
Paul McCartney has again called for the release of Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, the two members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot who were jailed last year for staging a musical protest in a Moscow church.
The one time Beatle has written two letters to Russian officials following the news that Alyokhina has gone on hunger strike after being refused the right to attend her own parole hearing. One of the letter’s makes a plea on behalf of Alyokhina, the other for Tolokonnikova.
In the former, Macca writes: “My personal belief is that further incarceration for Maria will be harmful for her and the situation as a whole, which, of course, is being watched by people all over the world. In the great tradition of fair-mindedness which the Russian people (many of whom are my friends) are famous for, I believe that you granting this request would send a very positive message to all the people who have followed this case”.
As previously reported, to date the Russian authorities have shown little sympathy for the Pussy Riot performers, despite calls from celebrities and human rights groups around the world for them to be let out of jail.