Madonna: Let Pussy Riot Go!

Never one to keep quiet, Madonna added her famous voice to criticize the jail sentence given to Russian group Pussy Riot. “I protest the conviction and sentencing of Pussy Riot to a penal colony for two years for a 40-second performance extolling their political opinions,” she said in a statement, adding a plea for Russians to demand they be let free. The three female band members were handed a two-year sentence for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after an anti-Putin performance in a Russian Orthodox church in Moscow. Other celebrities like Bryan Adams, Sting, and Paul McCartney have also shown support for Pussy Riot, and the U.S. and E.U. have expressed concern over their sentencing.