A jailed member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot has embarked on a hunger strike after local prosecutors gave her just days to prepare her defence against hooliganism charges.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was arrested and imprisoned with two of her bandmates, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, for attacking President Vladimir Putin while performing anti-Putin song Holy S**t during a church gig in Moscow in February (12).
The feminist rockers face up to seven years in jail for the counts and Tolokonnikova has been ordered to appear in court to answer the accusations on Monday (09Jul12).
But the 23 year old insists her lawyer Mark Feigin needs time to fully understand the charges against her and to sufficiently prepare her case, and she is refusing to eat in a bid to convince officials to grant them the extra time.
They are seeking to have the court date pushed back until 1 September (12) to review case materials.
Human rights activists at Amnesty International called for the release of the Pussy Riot stars last month (Jun12), insisting they are "prisoners of conscience".