Recently released members of the Russian band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina will appear at Amnesty International’s Bringing Human Rights Home concert next month in Brooklyn, to speak about their experiences as prisoners of conscience.
The two women were released from a Russian prison last month, under an amnesty bill, after serving 21 months for staging a protest performance against President Vladimir Putin. They were arrested in 2012 for staging the protest in a Russian cathedral, and sentenced to two years in prison for hooliganism and “inciting religious hatred.”
“We, more than anyone, understand how important Amnesty’s work is in connecting activists to prisoners,” the women said in the announcement. “We will never forget what it’s like to be in prison after a political conviction. We have vowed to continue helping those who remain behind bars,” they added.
Alyokhina said in a recent interview that the group’s upcoming project would be a “human rights defence organization, but of a new kind.” She said that the group plan on using “the brightness and illumination of media resources” to highlight the problems of the Russian prison system and “perhaps more generally.”
Twenty-five years after its initial concert series, which featured U2, Sting, Lou Reed and others, Amnesty International’s new concert aims to raise awareness about human rights to a new generation. It will take place on 5th February at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn and will also feature performances from Tegan and Sara, Cold War Kids, Cake, The Flaming Lips, Lauryn Hill and more.
