Green Day Backs Pussy Riot's 'Freedom Of Expression' At VMAs

LOS ANGELES — Earlier today, Pussy Riot sent MTV News a video in which they thanked pop stars like Green Day, Madonna, Bjork and Red Hot Chili Peppers for their vociferous support. And on the red carpet at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, Green Day sent the good vibes right back.

What made the trio respond to the Pussy Riot plight? "I think it's just the freedom of expression. Civil liberties," Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said, as he and his band geared up for their fifth VMA performance. "Always speak your mind, always speak the truth, no matter the cost."

Before the millions of albums, the Grammys and the VMA Moonmen, Green Day, of course, began in the underground punk scene, where a strong point of view was always encouraged. "[Pussy Riot] remind me of old bands that we played with back in 1990, 1991," Armstrong mused.

Last month, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich from the Russian agitprop collective were imprisoned for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred," following a February performance/demonstration at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Pussy Riot had charged into the church, crossed themselves and then prayed to the Virgin Mary to "drive [Russian President Vladimir] Putin away." The group has often donned masks and staged performance-art-style protests in Russia, a country whose government has cracked down on such demonstrations.

Human Rights group Amnesty International and a wide range of musicians, actors and comedians condemned the arrest of the group members when it happened back in March. The girls were imprisoned for the next three months. At a Russian concert, Madonna said it would be a "travesty" if the women were convicted. In August, all three members of the group who had been arrested were sentenced to two years in a penal colony. Amnesty International called their conviction "a bitter blow to freedom."

MTV News reached out to the Pussy Riot members who remain free asking for their reaction to the groundswell of support from the music community abroad. In the 90-second video they filmed and sent in response, they unfurled a huge banner, rappelled down the side of a building and burned a photo of Putin after declaring, "The fight for freedom is an endless battle that is bigger than life!"