Chili Peppers’ lead singer backs jailed anti-Putin punks
July 23, 2012 by AFP
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis performs during the Rock in Rio music festival in Arganda del Rey, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain, Sunday, July 8, 2012.
— AP Photo
MOSCOW: Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of US rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, gave his backing to a jailed Russian girl punk band during a Moscow concert Sunday, a Russian news website reported.
Kiedes performed with his band at the city’s Luzniky stadium wearing a tee-shirt emblazoned with “Pussy Riot”, the news website http://www.gazeta.ru, a report confirmed by by posts on Twitter.
Pussy Riot is the name of the punk trio currently detained pending trial for an protest against President Vladimir Putin last February.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina face up to seven years if jailed, after having barged into a Moscow church to sing a “punk prayer” calling for the overthrow of Putin.
The three have already been held in detention since March and on Friday a Moscow court ordered them detained for another six months, until January 12.
The anti-Putin opposition has rallied to support them with a number of artists and other celebrities denouncing what they say is their harsh treatment.
