Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina has called it quits after an 11 day hunger strike following a refusal of the right to attend her own parole hearing.
After staging a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s cathedral Christ the Saviour, band members of Pussy Riot were convicted of “hooliganism incited by religious hatred” in August of 2012.
Although Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich was earlier let free, the remaining 2 band members were to serve the rest of their 2 year term in a Russian prison colony.
Maria Alyokhina began her hunger strike in late May after both Alyokhina and bandmate Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were denied parole. The punk rocker has claimed that the prison officials have been giving other inmates stricter security limits to help turn them against her.
While during Alyokhina’s hunger strike, she had to be hospitalized for low blood pressure.
Pyotr Verzilov, husband of Tolokonnikova, has reported that “the prison administration took [Maria] on a special tour of the colony to show her that her demands have been met.”
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were recently denied parole and have now lost the appeal against their two year prison sentence.
Their infamous anti-government protest at a Moscow cathedral has earned the band loads of support and loyalty from loving fans. Let’s show some support for these awesome punk rock chicks. Check out their documentary featuring the band’s human rights activism, titled Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer, that will air on HBO on June 10 at 9 p.m. EST. Soon after, a new book called Let’s Start a Pussy Riot will debut at the Meltdown Festival in London.
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