Maria Alekhina slams Russian judiciary over early release

Pussy Riot star Maria Alekhina has sensationally alleged she was forcibly freed from prison against her will, branding her early release a publicity stunt. Alekhina and her bandmate Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were set free on Monday (23Dec13), three months ahead of their planned parole date in March (14), as part of an approved presidential amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s post-Soviet constitution.
Alekhina has now revealed she planned to refuse the offer of early release but was given no choice as guards were ordered to free her.
She says, “I intended to refuse my early release but they had their orders, and so I was brought here. Now I’d like to meet with human rights activists, start solving the problems of our penitentiary system and pursue a career in human rights.”
In a telephone conversation with a reporter from Russian TV channel Dozhd, she adds, “I do not think it is a humanitarian act, I think it is a PR stunt. My attitude to the president has not changed.”
Alekhina and Tolokonnikova were jailed in 2012 for hooliganism following a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Moscow church. A third member of the band, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was also jailed but was freed in October, 2012 when her sentence was commuted.