The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will give priority consideration to a lawsuit concerning the continued detention of Russia’s Pussy Riot punk group, their lawyer said on Tuesday.
Moscow city court rejected on Monday an appeal for the release from custody of three women from the group. The suspects face up to seven years in jail over an anti-Putin protest staged in February in Russia’s main cathedral. They have all been in custody since March.
Lawyer Violetta Volkova said a motion was sent to the ECHR in mid-June and she had received confirmation on Monday that the suit had been accepted for priority consideration.
“We will submit the full package of documents by August 16,” she wrote in her Twitter account.
Amnesty International has recognized the suspects as prisoners of conscience and the Kremlin’s own rights council has supported a letter by dozens of public figures calling for their release. Two of the suspects have small children.