You're reading: Verdict, protests loom for Russia’s jailed punks

PARIS — They're asking for undies on heads, masks, and as much color as possible. Organizers of protests in more than three dozen cities around the world are hoping for thousands to turn out in raucous support of the Russian femme provocateurs Pussy Riot, who are facing sentencing Friday, Aug .17, in Moscow.

The three women in the band have been in jail for more than five months because of a prank in Moscow’s main cathedral against Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and face a maximum seven years in jail.

Celebrities
including Paul McCartney, Madonna and Bjork have called for them to be
freed, and protests are planned around the world Friday. The trial has
attracted worldwide attention as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent.