RUSSIA: Pussy Riot Member Tolokonnikova Denied Parole

A Russian court has denied parole to a member of the punk band Pussy Riot.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova had requested parole from the two-year sentence which she received for the band's protest against President Vladimir Putin in a cathedral last year.

But the district court in Russia's Mordovia region turned down her application.

Judge Lidiya Yakovleva said: "Applying parole to Tolokonnikova is premature. The court finds the arguments of the defence unsound."

Pussy Riot staged their "punk prayer" protest at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral on February 21, 2012, appealing to the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out".

Three band members were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sent to prison, although one, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was later freed on appeal.

In February, Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, told Sky News his wife had been taken to the prison's hospital.

He said she was suffering from headaches and was undergoing tests to determine whether existing medical conditions were being exacerbated by the work she was required to do in prison.

Prison officials said that Tolokonnikova does not deserve parole because she has not repented for her actions and has received reprimands while serving her two-year term in a prison colony in Mordovia.

According to the AFP news agency, the judge made her decision after taking about an hour and a half to deliberate and failing to give the defence a chance for a final argument.

The decision was met with some cries of "Shame!" from the audience, which included Tolokonnikova's husband and father, as well as many journalists and supporters who came from Moscow.

Tolokonnikova, wearing green prison garb, silently stood in her courtroom metal cage as the decision was read.

Pussy Riot are known in Russia for making provocative "guerrilla" performances in unusual public locations, during which they play music with a feminist and political message, often against Mr Putin.

One of the arguments against Tolokonnikova's parole was her lack of participation in prison activities, such as the Miss Charm Prison Camp 14 beauty contest.

The 2012 trial of the three Pussy Riot members grabbed worldwide attention, with stars such as Madonna, Sting and Yoko Ono voicing their support.

Since being sent to jail, Tolokonnikova has lodged a complaint in court against a reprimand issued against her for failing to greet a guard while she was in the sick bay.

Source: Sky News (26/04/2013): http://news.sky.com/story/1083514/pussy-riot-member-tolokonnikova-denied-parole