Hacker group Anonymous attacks website of the court that jailed Pussy Riot

21 Aug 2012

Pictured: a Pussy Riot protester arrested by police in Moscow last week

The Moscow district court that jailed Russian punk band Pussy Riot has been attacked by Anonymous and defaced with a slogan denouncing Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

As well as the anti-Putin slogan Anonymous Russia posted an appeal for the band’s release as well as a video clip of one of the band’s songs.

The slogan read: “Putin’s thieving gang is plundering our country, wake up comrades!”

Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (22), Marina Alyokhina (24) and Yekatrina Samutsevich (30) were sentenced to hard labour at a penal colony for up to two years last week for staging a protest inside an orthodox cathedral in Moscow and belting out a profanity-ridden anti-Kremlin song on the cathedral’s alter.

They were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

Western governments as well as celebrities including Paul McCartney and Madonna called for leniency ahead of the sentencing last week.

Pussy Riot protest image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com