This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21047979
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Russia court turns down Pussy Riot jail plea over child | Russia court turns down Pussy Riot jail plea over child |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Russian court has refused to defer the jail term of a member of punk protest group Pussy Riot over concerns for her child. | A Russian court has refused to defer the jail term of a member of punk protest group Pussy Riot over concerns for her child. |
| Maria Alyokhina, 24, had asked to serve the rest of her two-year sentence when her five-year-old son was older. | Maria Alyokhina, 24, had asked to serve the rest of her two-year sentence when her five-year-old son was older. |
| Her case was heard in Berezniki in the Perm region, near where she is jailed. | Her case was heard in Berezniki in the Perm region, near where she is jailed. |
| She was arrested last year after Pussy Riot interrupted a service at the main cathedral in Moscow with a protest song against President Vladimir Putin. | She was arrested last year after Pussy Riot interrupted a service at the main cathedral in Moscow with a protest song against President Vladimir Putin. |
| The ruling means that Alyokhina will remain in prison, some 750 miles (1,200km) north-east of her home in the capital, Moscow. | The ruling means that Alyokhina will remain in prison, some 750 miles (1,200km) north-east of her home in the capital, Moscow. |
| "The application for a deferral by Maria Alyokhina's lawyer, Oksana Darova, shall be refused. The court has decided that the fact that Alyokhina has a young child was taken into account by Moscow's Khamovnichesky court. No new circumstances have been established," the judge was quoted by Russian news agency Interfax as saying. | |
| 'Nothing to repent' | 'Nothing to repent' |
| Alyokhina and fellow Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" over the obscenity-laced "punk prayer" against President Vladimir Putin, which they performed at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral on 21 February 2012. | Alyokhina and fellow Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" over the obscenity-laced "punk prayer" against President Vladimir Putin, which they performed at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral on 21 February 2012. |
| The two women lost their appeals against their jail terms last October, but a third band member - Yekaterina Samutsevich - was freed with a suspended jail sentence. | The two women lost their appeals against their jail terms last October, but a third band member - Yekaterina Samutsevich - was freed with a suspended jail sentence. |
| "No-one will force me to say I'm guilty - I have nothing to repent for," Alyokhina had said in court earlier. | "No-one will force me to say I'm guilty - I have nothing to repent for," Alyokhina had said in court earlier. |
| She had argued that her son Filipp was in his formative years and could not do without her. | She had argued that her son Filipp was in his formative years and could not do without her. |
| "I'm in a situation where I have to prove here that my son needs me, which is obvious," she said. | "I'm in a situation where I have to prove here that my son needs me, which is obvious," she said. |
| Peter Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband, who has campaigned on Alyokhina's behalf, said before the ruling that Filipp "is small and misses his mother". | Peter Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband, who has campaigned on Alyokhina's behalf, said before the ruling that Filipp "is small and misses his mother". |
| In November, she was transferred to solitary confinement because of tension with other inmates after she refused to join a hunger strike by other prisoners, her lawyer said. | In November, she was transferred to solitary confinement because of tension with other inmates after she refused to join a hunger strike by other prisoners, her lawyer said. |
| The other inmates were said to have started behaving aggressively towards her. | The other inmates were said to have started behaving aggressively towards her. |