Why International Support for Pussy Riot Could Backfire

Three members of Russian punk collective Pussy Riot face sentencing in a Moscow court on Friday.

The women could spend up to seven years in prison if convicted on charges of hooliganism.

They’ve been in jail since February after they broke into a Moscow cathedral and performed a “punk prayer” at the altar in a protest against Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Several top Western musicians, including Paul McCartney and Madonna, have expressed support for the jailed Pussy Riot rockers.

But Russian-American musician and writer Alina Simone tells anchor Marco Werman that she thinks the excessive media attention Pussy Riot has gotten could alienate ordinary Russians, and, she says, “…in a perverse way, strengthen support for Putin.”