A group of leading musicians has called on Russia's president Vladimir Putin to give a fair hearing to members of a punk band facing prison for performing a ‘legitimate protest’. The trio, Pussy Riot, face up to seven years behind bars after staging a performance in a Moscow cathedral calling on the Virgin Mary to remove President Putin from power. In a letter to The Times newspaper, the group of British musicians including Jarvis Cocker, Pete Townshend, Martha Wainwright and Neil Tennant, said that the incident by the band amounted to ‘a minor breach of the peace’. Scroll down for video of Pussy Riot's protest
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Band face seven years in jail if found guilty of 'hooliganism'
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British musicians have written to The Times newspaper asking for the women to face a fair hearing for performing a 'minor breach of the peace'
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They are concerned about the treatment of the Pussy Riot band members
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Trial has divided Russian society
The three young women said they had wanted to change @placeholder with their action but could have made an ‘ethical’ mistake by offending worshippers.