Pussy Riot appeals in EU

MOSCOW — Lawyers for three members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot have contested their convictions in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The complaint filed yesterday alleges the group’s conviction violates four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial.

Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Natalia Tolokonnikova were sentenced to two years in prison for their irreverent “punk prayer” in Moscow’s main cathedral last February against Vladimir Putin’s return to Russian presidency. Samutsevich was released on appeal.

AP