MOSCOW — The Russian Orthodox Church on Sunday asked for clemency for three jailed members of the rock band Pussy Riot if they repent for their “punk prayer” for deliverance from President Vladimir Putin at Moscow’s main cathedral.
The statement came a day before an appeal hearing and appeared to reflect a desire to put an end to a case that has caused an international outrage.
But it was unclear whether the women, who were sentenced to two years last month, would offer a penitence sought by the church and how much leniency a court may show.
In Sunday’s statement, the church reaffirmed its condemnation of the women’s raucous stunt but added that if they show “penitence and reconsideration of their action,” their words “shouldn’t be left unnoticed.”
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were arrested in March after dancing and high-kicking at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral as they pleaded with the Virgin Mary to save Russia from Putin.
