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Brooklyn-based band and performance collective MEN has released a new music video supporting Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, three of whose members were sentenced to two years in jail for staging a protest performance against President Vladimir Putin inside an Orthodox cathedral on Feb. 21.
The song, titled "Let Them Out Or Let Me In," is a catchy solidarity anthem for the radical feminists operating under an oppressive political regime.
"Thirty seconds of protest just got you two whole years in jail," sings a female voice in the song, set to stock footage of Pussy Riot protests. "I'm standing with you on the front lines / We'd sell our souls to make your bail / We are all sisters and today you are me / Because we never stood for any of this / And we won't stop until you're free."
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Marina Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, of Pussy Riot have been in jail since the February protest, and were found guilty in August of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" for performing their "punk prayer" inside Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral. The trio of women, whose identities were previously hidden behind Pussy Riot's trademark brightly colored knit balaclavas, were sentenced to two years hard labor.
The sentencing, which the women plan to appeal, has sparked controversy around the globe, including condemnation from the United States and the European Union. In fact, the EU Parliament has nominated Pussy Riot for the annual Sakharov Prize, a humanitarian award, reportsEurActive.com.
The Russian government condemned the nomination, saying that the European Parliament was interfering with the government's work. "The initiative by a group of European parliament deputies can be considered nothing but a crude attempt to interfere with the work of the independent branch of the Russian government and an endeavor to question a decision of the court that delivered its verdict in due process," the Russian foreign ministry said in a report on EUbusiness.com.
Watch the video in support of Pussy Riot, "Let Them Out Or Let Me In," by MEN, below.
<p>Sunnivie is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor at <em>The Advocate</em>. A proud spouse and puppy-parent, Sunnivie strives to queer up the world of reporting while covering the politics of equality daily.</p>
<p>Sunnivie is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor at <em>The Advocate</em>. A proud spouse and puppy-parent, Sunnivie strives to queer up the world of reporting while covering the politics of equality daily.</p>
