[Shaun]

On March 3, 2012 Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, two alleged members of Pussy Riot, were arrested by Russian authorities and accused of hooliganism. Both women at first denied being members of the group and started a hunger strike in protest against being held in jail away from their young children until their case came to trial in April. On March 16 another woman, Ekaterina Samoutsevitch, who had earlier been questioned as a witness in this case, was similarly arrested and charged.

On June 4, the group was presented with formal charges on an indictment 2,800 pages long. On July 4 they were suddenly informed that they would have to finish preparing their defense by July 9. They announced a hunger strike in response, saying that two working days was inadequate time for preparations for a trial defense. On July 21 the court extended their pre-trial detention by another six months.

The three detained members of Pussy Riot are recognized as political prisoners by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (SPP). Amnesty International named them prisoners of conscience due to "the severity of the response of the Russian authorities".

Some prominently expressed opinions in Russia have been much harsher. Speaking at a liturgy in Moscow’s Deposition of the Robe Church on March 21, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill I condemned Pussy Riot’s actions as "blasphemous", saying that the "Devil has laughed at all of us ... We have no future if we allow mocking in front of great shrines, and if some see such mocking as some sort of valour, as an expression of political protest, as an acceptable action or a harmless joke." Singer Alla Pugachyova appealed on the women's behalf, stating that they should be ordered to perform community service rather than be imprisoned. According to BBC correspondent Daniel Sandford, "Their treatment has caused deep disquiet among many Russians, who feel the women are – to coin a phrase from the 1967 trial of members of the rock band The Rolling Stones – butterflies being broken on a wheel."

By late June 2012, growing disquiet over the trio’s detention without setting a trial date and concern over what was regarded as excessive and arbitrary treatment, led to the drawing up of an open letter. It was signed by leading oppositional figures as well as director Fyodor Bondarchuk, a supporter of Putin, and actors Chulpan Khamatova and Yevgeny Mironov, both of whom had appeared in videos for Putin’s re-election campaign. Nikita Mikhalkov, head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union, stated in an interview that he would gladly sign an open letter against them.

In July 2012, sociologist Alek D. Epstein published a compilation of artistic works by various Russian artists entitled “Art on the barricades: Pussy Riot, the Bus Exhibit and the protest art-activism” in support of the trio.

The trial of the three women started in Moscow's Khamovniki, or Khamovnichesky, District Court on July 30. Charged with "premeditated hooliganism performed by organized group of people motivated by religious hatred or hostility", they face possible sentences of up to seven years imprisonment. In early July, a poll conducted in Moscow found that half of the respondents oppose the trial while 36 percent support it; the rest being undecided. The defendants pleaded not guilty, insisting that they had not meant their protest to be offensive. On July 31, The Financial Times published an editorial saying the women had become "an international cause célèbre" due to the harsh treatment they have received.

The defendants
Maria Alyokhina, a 4th year student at the Institute of Journalism and Creative Writing in Moscow, has a history as a humanitarian volunteer and environmental activist with Greenpeace Russia. She is 24 and has one young child. She played an active role in the trial: cross-examining witnesses and aggressively questioning the nature of the charges and proceeding.
Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, is a computer programmer interested in LGBT issues. She is a graduate of the Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia in Moscow. Court sessions were attended by her grandfather Stanislav Samutsevich.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, is a philosophy student at Moscow State University with a history of political activism with the street-art group Voina. She is married to Pyotr Verzilov and has a 4 year old daughter.

International support
The accused have received support from foreign musicians such as Kate Nash, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Cornershop, Faith No More, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, Patti Smith, The Beastie Boys, Zola Jesus, Die Antwoord, Jarvis Cocker, Pete Townshend, The Joy Formidable, Peaches, Madonna, Genesis, Tegan and Sara, Johnny Marr, Iiro Rantala, Propagandhi, Anti-Flag, Corinne Bailey Rae, Kathleen Hanna, and Yoko Ono. British comedian Stephen Fry also tweeted his support for the group.

121 members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, sent a letter to the Russian Ambassador to Germany, Vladimir Grinin, in support of the three jailed members. The letter referred to proceedings against the women as being disproportionate and draconian. On August 9, 2012, 400 Pussy Riot supporters in Berlin marched wearing colored balaclavas in a show of support for the group

And if you needed confirmation that Scandinavia > the rest of the world:

Iceland Review reports that during this weekend's Gay Pride Parade in Reykjavík, the capital's mayor, Jón Gnarr, dressed up as a member of jailed feminist Russian punk collective Pussy Riot on a float, accompanied by a banner that reads "Free Pussy Riot". (Gnarr isn't the first Icelandic citizen of repute to express public support for Pussy Riot in the last few days; Björk issued a statement of her own yesterday):

"as a musician and a mother i would like to express i fiercely dont agree with them being put to jail because of their peaceful protest performance . they are currently standing trial and facing seven years in prison for this… in my opinion the russian authorities should let them go home to their families and children… i would like to invite pussy riot to join me in a particular song on stage : which was written for all enhancement of justice ( you can guess : once , which one )"

Frightening, deplorable behaviour from one of the world's most unsurprising and repeated abusers of human rights. **** Russia's government. **** it up the ass.