Why International Support for Pussy Riot Could Backfire
Russian-American singer and writer Alina Simone (Photo: Matthew Spencer)
Three members of Russian punk collective Pussy Riot face sentencing in a Moscow court on Friday.
The women could spend up to seven years in prison if convicted on charges of hooliganism.
They’ve been in jail since February after they broke into a Moscow cathedral and performed a “punk prayer” at the altar in a protest against Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Several top Western musicians, including Paul McCartney and Madonna, have expressed support for the jailed Pussy Riot rockers.
But Russian-American musician and writer Alina Simone tells anchor Marco Werman that she thinks the excessive media attention Pussy Riot has gotten could alienate ordinary Russians, and, she says, “…in a perverse way, strengthen support for Putin.”