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London - A group of British musicians including Pete Townshend and the Pet Shop Boys have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin, due in London on Thursday, to give a fair trial to punk band Pussy Riot.
In a letter published in Thursday's Times newspaper, the twelve musicians called the charges against the three female band members "preposterous".
"Dissent is a right in any democracy and it is entirely disproportionate that they face seven years in jail for what we consider a preposterous charge of 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'," the musicians wrote.
Among the signatories of the letter were Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker; Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos; Johnny Marr of The Smiths and folk singer Corinne Bailey Rae.
Travesty of justice
The trial of the three women who face up to seven years in jail for performing an anti-Putin song in a Moscow church got underway proper on Monday, in a case that has divided the country.
One of the accused, Maria Alekhina, collapsed on Wednesday after suffering a steep drop in blood sugar levels.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to bring up the matter when he met with Putin, who was travelling to London for the Olympics.
Initial hearings in the trial earlier this month saw the court order the three members of the rock group stay in detention until January 2013, a move their supporters condemned as a travesty of justice.
In February, the three women climbed into an area reserved for priests in the Church of Christ the Saviour, the country's top Orthodox cathedral, and performed a "punk prayer" against Putin.
The trio - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina - were all arrested in March. Several others also took part but were never arrested.
In a letter published in Thursday's Times newspaper, the twelve musicians called the charges against the three female band members "preposterous".
"Dissent is a right in any democracy and it is entirely disproportionate that they face seven years in jail for what we consider a preposterous charge of 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'," the musicians wrote.
Among the signatories of the letter were Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker; Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos; Johnny Marr of The Smiths and folk singer Corinne Bailey Rae.
Travesty of justice
The trial of the three women who face up to seven years in jail for performing an anti-Putin song in a Moscow church got underway proper on Monday, in a case that has divided the country.
One of the accused, Maria Alekhina, collapsed on Wednesday after suffering a steep drop in blood sugar levels.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to bring up the matter when he met with Putin, who was travelling to London for the Olympics.
Initial hearings in the trial earlier this month saw the court order the three members of the rock group stay in detention until January 2013, a move their supporters condemned as a travesty of justice.
In February, the three women climbed into an area reserved for priests in the Church of Christ the Saviour, the country's top Orthodox cathedral, and performed a "punk prayer" against Putin.
The trio - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina - were all arrested in March. Several others also took part but were never arrested.
