Free speech on Earth, goodwill to men

AS A GOOD PORTION of the world gears up for Christmas, "the war on free speech" got a bit of a present in Russia, of all places, when the last two imprisoned members of punk band Pussy Riot walked out of prison yesterday and then criticized the amnesty measure that released them as a publicity stunt.

Like a noted American duck caller, they won't back down.

Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were granted amnesty last week in a move largely viewed as the Kremlin's attempt to soothe criticism of Russia's human-rights record before the Sochi Games in February.

"I'm calling for a boycott of the Olympic Games," Tolokonnikova said. "What is happening today - releasing people just a few months before their term expires - is a cosmetic measure."

The amnesty and President Vladimir Putin's pardoning last week of onetime oil tycoon and political rival Mikhail Khodorkovsky freed some of the most prominent convicts who were sentenced in politically tainted cases.

Khodorkovsky on Sunday also spoke up, saying at a news conference that his release shouldn't be seen as indicating that there aren't other "political prisoners" in Russia.

Russia's parliament passed the amnesty bill last week, allowing the release of thousands of inmates. Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova, who were due for release in March, qualified for amnesty because they have small children.

*A court in the United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, sentenced eight people including an American to up to a year in prison yesterday after being convicted in connection to a satirical video about youth culture in Dubai.

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Free speech on Earth, goodwill to men