Just one Pussy Riot member won her appeal against a 2 years sentence for " hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" in a Moscow court yesterday.
The two year jail term of Yekaterina Samutsevich was suspended when her lawyer was able to prove that she had been removed from the Moscow church by guards prior to getting her guitar out of it's case for the political protest performance. "Political" being the operative word in that sentence. All three appealed on the grounds that their performance in the Moscow Church was a "political" demonstration rather than an act of religious hatred. Unfortunately for Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova their sentence was not suspended on those grounds.
Maria and Nadezhda cheered and hugged Yekaterina when the her sentence was successfully appealed. Defence lawyers for the two unsuccessful appealing members have stated that they will continue to appeal.
Maria Alyokhina stated in court "we won't stay silent - even in Mordovia, or Siberia - however uncomfortable that is for you".
