Russian court declares punk protest group Pussy Riot ‘extremist’ organisation
The ruling outlaws the feminist group from operating in Russia and puts anyone linked with them at risk of prosecution
Punk group Pussy Riot was declared an “extremist organisation” by a Russian court on Monday.
The ruling, by Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court, effectively outlaws the group from operating in Russia and puts anyone linked with the group at risk of criminal prosecution.
The feminist protest group first catapulted to notoriety in 2012, when its members performed a provocative “punk prayer” against President Vladimir Putin from the pulpit of Russia’s largest cathedral.
Today, members of the group remain part of Russia’s opposition, largely working in exile.
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‘Like a Gulag labour camp’: Former Russian prisoner, Pussy Riot member recalls life in penal colony
In September, five people linked with Pussy Riot - Maria Alyokhina, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot and Alina Petrova - were handed jail terms in absentia by a Russian court after being found guilty of spreading “false information” about the Russian military, news outlet Mediazona reported.