Madonna Renews Call to Free Jailed Russian Punk Stars

Pop superstar Madonna renewed her campaign to release the jailed members of Russian punk group PUSSY RIOT during her show in Los Angeles just hours after one of the women walked free from prison on Wednesday (10Oct12).

Three members of the band were handed two-year prison sentences for staging a protest in a church in Moscow in February (12), prompting an outcry from stars including Sir Paul McCartney and Madonna, who called the jail terms "harsh" and "inhumane".

The women were back in court on Wednesday (10Oct12), and Yekaterina Samutsevich had sentence overturned after her lawyer argued the star had been restrained by police officers before the stunt and hadn't taken part.

Samutsevich has also given her first interviews since being freed, revealing the three women did not have access to any outside information during their time behind bars and she had no idea they had r

Samutsevich walked free from court, but her bandmates - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina - had their sentences upheld.

Comment on this Article

Lawyers representing Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have revealed they now hope to take the musicians' case to the European Court of Human Rights, and Madonna addressed the issue again during her gig at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (10Oct12).

She told the audience, "May I remind you that two members of Pussy Riot are still in jail".

She tells Sky News, "We did not have access to any video or any audio, we did not even see Madonna's performances (when she danced with the band's name scrawled on her back)".

In another interview, Samutsevich reveals she feels bad for walking free after six months in custody while her friends remain behind bars.

She tells CNN, "(I have) mixed feelings... Of course I am very happy to be out and to be free, but I'm very upset that Nadezhda and Maria are still incarcerated... (They are) very, very upset (about being separated from their children)... but they are holding up very well".

Samutsevich also vowed the band will continue its political fight in the future, adding, "We are not finished, nor are we going to end our political protest... (But we will be) more cautious (in the future)".

Comments

On July 10 1985, The Playboy magazine issue of nude Madonna photos was released !!

Playboy publishes nude photos of Madonna taken before she was famous. The singer did a number of nude photo shoots from 1977-1980, starting when she was an 18-year-old student at the University of Michigan looking for some extra cash and trying to form a band. Now a huge star, Playboy publishes some of the shots taken in 1979 and 1980 in a revealing spread. A year earlier, the magazine turned down nude photos of Miss America winner Vanessa Williams , which their rival Penthouse published. "We think Vanessa genuinely didn't know what she was doing, didn't know her photos might be published," the article states. "Madonna, on the other hand, posed repeatedly for two noted photographers who routinely publish what they shoot." One of the photographers, Lee Friedlander, says of the shoot: "She seemed very confident, a street-wise girl." Madonna has little to say on the matter, but doesn't shy away. "I'm not ashamed,&q

Madonna's ex Carlos Leon marries designer Betina Holte...and daughter Lourdes attends the wedding

Her father Carlos Leon split from her mother Madonna in 1996, shortly after she was born. But Lourdes Leon clearly bears no ill will towards the 47-year-old personal trainer. The 16-year-old was seen attending Carlos' wedding to Zac Posen designer Betina Holte recently in Denmark. I do: Madonna's ex Carlos Leon recently wed designer Betina Holte in Gillelje, Denmark, and his daughter Lourdes attended the ceremony Daddy's girl: Lourdes Leon looked pretty in a black floral frock as she left the church The high school student wore a pretty navy blue floral dress and wedge heels, covering her head with a scarf. She was seen giggling with a friend outside the picturesque church in the Denmark town of Gillelje. Carlos, meanwhile, grinned widely as he posed with his beautiful blonde wife inside the church. Handsome couple: Betina looked gorgeous in her slim-fitting gown, while Carlos looked typically striking in a grey suit She's got

September 24 1992, Madonna baring her breasts and blowing kisses, At The Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion show.

September 24 1992, Madonna baring her breasts and blowing kisses, Billy Idol in double leather... we explore the fashion show that raised $700,000 for AIDS research Jean Paul Gaultier is renowned for many things – his exceptional tailoring, his conical bras, his impassioned approach to sociopolitcal causes in fashion – and, on September 2, 1992, all of these elements united for a show that definitely mattered. In honour of amFAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research), Gaultier held a fashion benefit whose runway included everything from lip-synching to Dr Ruth dressed in rubber to raise money for a cause that devastated (and continues to devastate) communities around the world. "Tonight will be about protection... wear rubber and protect yourself!" – Jean Paul Gaultier "Tonight will be about protection... wear rubber and protect yourself!" explained Gaultier before the show. "I think fashion can make people think... and what will be im

Madonna Extreme

Search This Blog