Two members of Russian protest group, 'Pussy Riot' were attacked in the city of Nizhny Novgorod by an organised group of men. Courtesy Dmitry Utukin/YouTube

FEMINIST rockers Pussy Riot are set to launch their own, independent news service to tackle controversial topics Russian media outlets are banned from covering.

Reporters at Mediazona will work in conjunction with a prisoner’s rights organisation set up by two members of the group, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, to focus on the country’s tough justice system.

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The singers hit headlines in 2012 when they were imprisoned on hooliganism charges after performing a protest song against President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow church.

“Since our release from prison ... we’ve felt that Russian media are no longer able to cover what is going on,” Tolokonnikova says. “Because of the heavy censorship by authorities there is no space for anything in the media that criticises Putin’s policies and tracks human rights abuses by Russian courts and law enforcement.

“Courts, prisons, arrests, convictions, riots in facilities, political criminal cases, crimes by law enforcement officials — our new media outlet will try to cover it all.” Tolokonnikova and Alekhina have become outspoken human rights advocates since walking free from prison in December last year as part of a political amnesty.

They are currently suing Russian government officials in the European Court of Human Rights to demand compensation over their imprisonment.