Russia: Pussy Riot members 'deprived of sleep and food' during trial

Three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot have been deprived of sleep and food by the Russian authorities, according to their lawyers, during a trial that critics say is part of a campaign to discredit the vociferous critics of the president, Vladimir Putin.

One of the women needed medical attention in court on the third day of a trial over the "punk prayer" the Pussy Riot band performed against Putin on the altar of Moscow's main cathedral in February.

Opponents say the trial is politically motivated and part of an attempt by Putin to silence the opposition, which has in the past eight months organised the biggest protests since he first rose to power in 2000.

A day after the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was charged with theft, federal investigators also suggested a fellow protest organiser, Gennady Gudkov, who is a member of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, had been involved in illegal business activity.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/01/pussy-riot-sleep-food-trial