Russian Orthodox Church asks authorities to show mercy on Pussy Riot

18/8/2012 Officials from Russia’s Orthodox Church have appealed to the country’s authorities to “show mercy” on the three members of Pussy Riot sentenced to two years in jail for a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s main cathedral. ­“Casting no doubt on the legitimacy of the court’s decision, we appeal to the public authorities to show mercy, within the law, on the convicted in the hope they will never repeat such blasphemous actions,” the Russian Orthodox Church’s High Council said in a statement. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich have each been sentenced to two years in a medium-security prison for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.