#FreeSentsov: Watch Russia’s Pussy Riot occupy Trump Tower to call attention to political prisoners
This is the feminist punk rock collective's first action in the United States.
From the streets of Moscow, Russian activists Pussy Riot have reached the lanes of Manhattan in New York. The notorious feminist punk rock collective reportedly shut down Trump Tower to stage a protest against the imprisonment of two activists from Ukraine – film director Oleg Sentsov and anarchist Olexandr Kolchenko – who are in Russian prison right now. “We decided to do an action right now, while we are in New York, with activists here because we believe there are no borders to our solidarity,” they said in a statement.
The video shows a member of the mostly-anonymous group unfurling a banner that reads “Free Sentsov”. The protest was also critical of “Westerners” for focussing on “sexist bullshit” instead of working to free prisoners. “Defending political prisoners is an issue that transcends borders. We are acting in solidarity against leaders like Putin, who has exercised authoritarian force and Trump, who is displaying authoritarian tendencies – because we all need to be fighting together on behalf of dissidents everywhere,” they also wrote.
The group shot to fame after a street performance in 2012 of their song, Virgin Mary Please Get Rid of Putin in Moscow, which mocked Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. The guerrilla performance resulted in a two-year prison sentence for its members. Watch the video below to know more about their resistance movement.