Pussy Riot case falsified: lawyers

Attorney Nikolay Polozov says that written testimony claimed to be given by the girls seems to have been written by investigators and then pasted to all the three cases.

Lawyer Violetta Volkova believes that this find can be used to charge witnesses of false statements.

On Wednesday, the Khamovniki court will question witnesses related to the case.

Judge refuses to withdraw from Pussy Riot case

The judge hearing the controversial Pussy Riot case has refused to recuse herself from it.

A motion to this effect was filed on Tuesday by the defense, who argued that Judge Marina Syrova undermined the competitive nature of the trial by granting petitions of the prosecution and dismissing similar applications by the women’s lawyer.

- Pussy Riot: Step by step (PHOTO)

“The court is biased against them”, said attorney Violetta Volkova. She also claimed her defendants were tortured and deprived of food, water and sleep.

The lawyer of the infamous Pussy Riot trio has already filed a motion demanding the judge’s resignation. According to the defense, Judge Marina Syrova is violating their right for defense in court.

Pussy Riot members refuse to admit their guilt

Three members of the controversial Pussy Riot band, have refused to admit their guilt but apologized to all the believers saying that they did not want to insult anyone, an official with the Khamovnichesky Court in Moscow said Monday.

On Monday, the court began the definitive hearing of the case of the three members of Pussy Riot who had been arrested in February for performing a “punk rock prayer” at the altar of Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Moscow.

The three activists – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Ekaterina Samutsevich, 29 – are accused of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility” and may face up to seven years behind the bars.

The song, in which the girls called on the Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out,” outraged the Russian Orthodox Church and led some human rights activists to speak about political undertones of this arrest.

Meanwhile, over a hundred prominent Russian actors, directors and musicians have urged the authorities to release the three. There’ve also been calls on the court to give them a lesser sentence and compensate them for the six months they have spent in pre-trial custody.

RIA, Interfax, BBC, Russia Today