A Moscow court has announced that the trial of three members of the Russian Pussy Riot punk group on "hooliganism" charges will begin on July 30.
The announcement came after the court on July 20 extended the detention of the three young women for six more months.
The trio has already been in custody since March.
Prosecutors have accused the three of inflicting "deep spiritual wounds" on Orthodox Christians with their performance in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in which they denounced President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
The women -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alyokhina -- could face seven years in prison if convicted.
The international human rights group Amnesty International says the women are being unfairly prosecuted and has named them “prisoners of conscience," jailed for their political views.
The announcement came after the court on July 20 extended the detention of the three young women for six more months.
The trio has already been in custody since March.
Prosecutors have accused the three of inflicting "deep spiritual wounds" on Orthodox Christians with their performance in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in which they denounced President Vladimir Putin’s rule.
The women -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alyokhina -- could face seven years in prison if convicted.
The international human rights group Amnesty International says the women are being unfairly prosecuted and has named them “prisoners of conscience," jailed for their political views.
