Last Updated, 5:23 p.m. While the prosecution of three members of a Russian protest band called Pussy Riot has raised concerns about freedom of speech and the growing influence of the Orthodox Church in Russia, an American actress has identified another “urgent matter” about the case: Russian prisons do not serve vegan meals.

In a letter to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, posted online by the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Alicia Silverstone noted that a vegan member of the band collapsed in court this month.

The actress, who previously starred in a PETA advertisement promoting vegetarianism, wrote:

Dear President Putin, I have been following the trial involving three members of the band Pussy Riot. As a vegan myself, I was deeply concerned to learn that one of the women, Maria Alekhina, who is a vegan, reportedly collapsed from hunger during a court session. I respectfully request you to ensure that vegan meals are available to Ms. Alekhina — and all prisoners. Regardless of the trial and its outcome, I’m sure you can agree that everyone has the right to show compassion and refrain from harming animals by being vegan. May I please have your assurance that Ms. Alekhina will have access to vegan foods? Thank you for your time and attention to this urgent matter.

The three women have been jailed since March for performing “a punk prayer service” inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where they sang an obscene anthem punctuated with cries of, “Holy Mother, send Putin packing!”

A spokeswoman for PETA confirmed to The Lede on Wednesday that the letter is genuine, and provided a link to a PDF copy of the original text, signed by Ms. Silverstone.

Alicia Silverstone’s Letter to President Putin

As my colleagues Michael Schwirtz and David Herszenhorn have reported, the case of the jailed riot grrls has become a cause célèbre among musicians, with everyone from Franz Ferdinand to Madonna calling on Mr. Putin to ensure their freedom.

Last week, the Icelandic singer Björk released “a statement in defense of Pussy Riot” and dedicated a song to the band during a performance in Finland.

On Tuesday, the Canadian singer Peaches released a music video for her new song “Free Pussy Riot!” that apparently features a number of prominent musicians — all wearing colorful balaclavas, in tribute to the Russians who use masks to guard their identities.

Supporters of the three women — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 — plan to mark the end of their trial this week with events in their honor. In New York on Thursday, the blog Brooklyn Vegan reports, “the band’s powerful courtroom statements will be read at Liberty Hall in the Ace Hotel by supporters of the Free Pussy Riot movement,” including the actress Chloe Sevigny, the poet Eileen Myles and the artist Karen Finley. On Friday, the day a verdict is expected in the case, the blog adds, “at 9 a.m. there’s a musical masquerade protest party outside Nicholas Orthodox Church; a march on Madison Ave at 11 a.m.; and a Times Square rally at 1 p.m.”

As The Guardian reported last month, after the women appeared in court to defend themselves, the father of one of the jailed protesters said that he expected his daughter to face the maximum penalty of seven years in prison.





