WASHINGTON POST: One of the members of a feminist punk group convicted of hooliganism, for storming into a cathedral and singing a protest song, unexpectedly won her freedom on appeal Wednesday.
Two other members of the band, called Pussy Riot, had their sentences upheld, and must serve two years in a prison camp…
The released woman, Yekaterina Samutsevich, had replaced her lawyers before a previously scheduled hearing. Her supporters were quick to point out Wednesday that the attorneys who originally represented her — Violetta Volkova, Nikolai Polozov and Mark Feigin — are particularly disliked by Putin. Samutsevich’s father suggested that she was being rewarded for making the change; other allies saw an effort by the Kremlin to drive a wedge among members of the group and among other activists as well… (more)
