Pussy Riot members sentenced in absentia for antiwar content

Five members of the Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot were sentenced in absentia this week by Moscow's Basmanny District Court to prison terms ranging from eight to 13 years on charges tied to antiwar performances and a music video critical of Russia's military actions in Ukraine, court records and independent reports said. The verdicts follow a December 2022 video titled Mama, Don't Watch TV and an April 2024 protest in Munich where a group member reportedly urinated on a portrait of President Vladimir Putin.

The defendants named in the judgments were Maria Alyokhina, Anastasia Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot and Alina Petrova. Alyokhina was sentenced to 13 years and 15 days in prison, Pletner to 11 years, and Borisova, Burkot and Petrova to eight years each, according to Mediazona, the independent Russian outlet cofounded by members of Pussy Riot, and corroborated by other reporting. Prosecutors brought the cases under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code, which criminalizes spreading what the state defines as false information about the armed forces.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of falsely alleging that Russian soldiers had killed Ukrainian...