Pussy Riot members to appear at Barclay's Center concert

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25831557

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Two members of Russian protest punk rock act Pussy Riot will appear at a concert promoting human rights in New York City, its organiser has said.

Amnesty International says Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova will appear at a 5 February concert in New York's Brooklyn borough.

The two spent 16 months in prison after their arrest in August 2012 for singing a protest song in a Moscow cathedral.

They were freed last month in what they derided as a publicity stunt.

"A month ago, we were freed from Russian prison camps," Ms Tolokonnikova and Ms Alyokhina said in a joint statement.

"We will never forget what it's like to be in prison after a political conviction. We have vowed to continue helping those who remain behind bars."

It is not clear whether they will perform at the concert at the Barclay's Center, which will feature The Flaming Lips, Imagine Dragons, Lauryn Hill and Tegan and Sara, among others, according to promotional material released by Amnesty International.

Last month, Ms Tolokonnikova called for foreign countries to boycott February's Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, hours after she was freed from jail.

Calling the amnesty law that set her free a "cosmetic measure", she and Ms Alyokhina said the prison system needed wider reform and promised to continue anti-government action.

The two Pussy Riot members were originally due to be freed in March 2014.

The women - both mothers of young children - faced tough conditions inside Russia's prison system and had a number of parole requests turned down.

Ms Tolokonnikova complained of abuses by prison staff and went on hunger strike during her imprisonment.

A third Pussy Riot member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was also jailed, but was released on appeal in October 2012.