Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has submitted an appeal to the Russian Constitutional Court seeking a revision of the article on "hooliganism," a charge for which the political activist was convicted to years behind bars.
"We believe that article 213 of the Criminal Code on 'hooliganism,' which was used to charge the members of the punk group [Pussy Riot], runs contrary to several provisions of the Constitution, including the article that guarantees freedom of expression," Tolokonnikova's lawyer, Ramil Akhmetgaliev, told newspaper Vedomosti on Monday.
Pussy Riot gained international fame in 2012 after performing a "punk prayer" in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in protest of President Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency.
Tolokonnikova and fellow group member Maria Alyokhina were convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to two years in prison before being amnestied in honor of the 20th anniversary of the country's Constitution last December.
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