FILE - In this Monday Oct. 1, 2012 file photo, feminist punk group Pussy Riot members, from left, Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit in a glass cage at a court room in Moscow, Russia. Lawyers for three members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot are contesting their conviction in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The complaint filed Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, alleges the group’s conviction violates four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture, and the right to a fair trial. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, file)
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FILE - In this Monday Oct. 1, 2012 file photo, feminist punk group Pussy Riot members, from left, Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit in a glass cage at a court room in Moscow, Russia. Lawyers for three members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot are contesting their conviction in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The complaint filed Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, alleges the group’s conviction violates four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture, and the right to a fair trial. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev, file)
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In this Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 photo Eshkobil Ashurov visits a consultancy for migrant workers in Sochi run by Semyon Simonov, left. Like thousands of other workers in Sochi, Eshkobil Ashurov from the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan came to Russia several years ago in search of work to provide for this family back home. (AP Photo/ Igor Yakunin)
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In this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, a hotel under construction in Krasnaya Polyana, mountain Olympic cluster, 60 kilometers East from Sochi, Russia. One year from now Russia will be hosting the Winter Olympics at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, and these Games are being built with the hands of thousands migrant workers who are doing all the grunt work that Russians find too low-paid and physically demanding. In a hope to escape their impoverished countries and provide for their families, Central Asian migrants flock to Russia to live in crowded quarters and work long hours. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
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In this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, hotels are under construction in Krasnaya Polyana, mountain Olympic cluster, 60 kilometers East from Sochi, Russia. One year from now Russia will be hosting the Winter Olympics at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, and these Games are being built with the hands of thousands migrant workers who are doing all the grunt work that Russians find too low-paid and physically demanding. In a hope to escape their impoverished countries and provide for their families, Central Asian migrants flock to Russia to live in crowded quarters and work long hours. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
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In this Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 photo Sohi's Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov poses with count-down clock in Sochi. One year from now Russia will be hosting the Winter Olympics at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, and these Games are being built with the hands of thousands migrant workers who are doing all the grunt work that Russians find too low-paid and physically demanding. In a hope to escape their impoverished countries and provide for their families, Central Asian migrants flock to Russia to live in crowded quarters and work long hours. (AP photo/Igor Yakunin)
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FILE - In this July 8, 2012 file photo, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is seen before the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit, Silverstone, England. Formula One boss Ecclestone on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, ruled out a 20th race on the 2013 calendar, putting an end to speculation that Turkey or another European country is in line to host a Grand Prix this year. (AP Photo/Tim Hales, File)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, third right, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, center back, meet with World War II veterans at a reception marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in World War II that led to the defeat of the Nazi Germany in the east. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)
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FILE - In this early 1943 photo, captured German soldiers, their uniforms tattered from the battle, make their way in the bitter cold through the ruins of Stalingrad, Russia. On Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, Russia marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, considered a turning point in World War II. (AP Photo/hpr, File)
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In this photo made Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with World War II veteran Ilya Filatov at a reception marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The Battle of Stalingrad was turning point in World War II that led to the defeat of the Nazi Germany. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)
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President Vladimir Putin speaks to World War II veteran Zinaida Stepykina as he takes part in ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, once known as Stalingrad, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. Russia celebrates the 70th anniversary of the end of one of modern warfare's bloodiest battles that was turning point in World War II and led to the defeat of the Nazi Germany. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Pussy Riot appeal conviction to European Court
MOSCOW (AP) — Lawyers for three members of the feminist punk group
Pussy Riot have contested their convictions in the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The complaint filed Wednesday alleges the group's conviction violates four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture and the right to a fair trial.
Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Natalia Tolokonnikova were sentenced to two years in prison for their irreverent "punk prayer" in Moscow's main cathedral last February against Vladimir Putin's return to Russian presidency. Samutsevich was later released on appeal.
Their conviction on charges of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" has sparked global outrage, drawing attention to Russia's intolerance of dissent under Putin.
Tolokonnikova returned to a prison colony in the central province of Mordovia Wednesday after spending some time at a hospital, her husband, Pyotr Verzliov, wrote on Twitter.
Tolokonnikova had complained of headaches and overwork at the colony, which is known for its tough conditions and strict schedule for prisoners to sew uniforms.
Alekhina, who is imprisoned in Perm province in the Urals, is currently appealing several reprimands in court.
Also on Wednesday, 11 Russian non-governmental organizations filed an appeal to the European Court contesting a Kremlin-backed law passed in a flurry of anti-opposition measures last year. The suit alleges that the law, which requires political NGOs with funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents," implies that they are spies and violates their right to freedom of expression and association.
Two American NGOs recently closed down operations and transferred their staff out of Russia in response to the law.
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