Freed Pussy Riot punk slams Kremlin amnesty as 'PR stunt'

Pussy Riot bandmember Maria Alyokhina, who was freed from prison Monday under a Kremlin-backed amnesty, slammed the measure as a mere publicity stunt and said that she would have preferred to remain in prison.

Pussy Riot bandmember Maria Alyokhina, who was freed from prison Monday under a Kremlin-backed amnesty, slammed the measure as a mere publicity stunt and said that she would have preferred to remain in prison.

"I don't think it's an amnesty, it's a profanation," she told the Dozhd television channel, saying it only applied to a tiny minority of convicts.

"I don't think the amnesty is a humanitarian act, I think it's a PR stunt."

"If I had a choice to refuse (the amnesty), I would" have done so, she said.