ALSO SEE: http://news.terra.com/russian-punk-band-plan-new-anti-putin-protests,31d000130f629310VgnVCM3000009acceb0aRCRD.html

Three members of Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot! were arrested and have been in jail the past five months for "hooliganism," a Russian variant of anti-blasphemy laws. They had gone into the main cathedral in Moscow with three other women and did an impromptu performance, a song asking the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Vladimar Putin. Three band members managed to escape in the confusion. The trial of the three arrested women ended last week in Moscow, and their sentencing is scheduled for Friday August 17th. They could be sentenced to three years in prison, the penalty the prosecution is asking for. The band members who managed to escape arrest are planning new anti-Putin protests in support of their imprisoned sisters.

The Free Pussy Riot web-site lists world-wide global actions on August 17th, proclaiming that date "Free Pussy Riot Global Day." http://freepussyriot.org