Second Pussy Riot member denied parole by Russian court

Russian courts ruled for the second time in three days to refuse parole to a member of the punk band Pussy Riot, an all-female trio noted for a protest performance against President Vladmir Putin that won the band renown but garnered prison sentences for two of them.   

A Russian court Friday denied Nadezdha Tolokonnikova's appeal for parole, according to the Agence France-Presse. On Wednesday a court in the city of Perm, 680 miles east of Moscow, denied parole to Maria Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova’s fellow band member. Both women have small children.

The women were convicted for ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,’ charges which have been denounced by liberal Russians and public figures around the world. The group was arrested after performing a "Punk Prayer" against the Russian Orthodox Church's close ties with Putin in Moscow's Church of Christ the Savior, Russia's top cathedral.

People from Paul McCartney to Aung San Suu Kyi, a democracy icon in Myanmar, have spoken out on the bands behalf. More than 100 famous musicians including Madonna, Elton John and Sting signed an open letter released on Monday appealing for the women to be freed.

The third Pussy Riot member, 30-year-old Yekaterina Samutsevich, has yet to be convicted. Samutsevich was freed on appeal with a suspended sentence after her lawyer argued she was grabbed by guards in the church before she could take part in the protest.

PUSSY RIOT: Russian court denies parole to member of Pussy Riot

The ruling came after the prosecutor argued that Tolokonnikova was not "on the path to correction," according to the art group Voina, which is closely associated with Pussy Riot and followed the hearing on Twitter.

In April a court turned down Tolokonnikova's parole request because of reprimands issued in the penal colony and her refusal to repent.

Tolokonnikova, 23, is serving her sentence in a prison colony in the region of Mordovia, about 300 miles south of Moscow.

Tolokonnikova said Friday she would continue to fight her sentence, and had no plans to repent for the song.

"I will be contesting my sentence in courts of every level until the very end and will not admit guilt," she said in court in the regional capital of Saransk.

Her lawyer Irina Khrunova told AFP she would not contest Friday's decision. Khrunova noted that supporters of the punk rocker included even court bailiffs who shook Khrunova's hand after the hearing.

"Of course, you are right," she said they had told her. Tolokonnikova is scheduled for release on March 3, 2014.

Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse