 Defense attorney Nikolai Polozov said that both Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich were also members of the Voina group , and both had previously staged disruptive protests in the Tagansky Court building , where they would be judged . He argued that their two previous attempts to disrupt proceedings would bias the judge , and preclude a fair outcome at that location . " I believe that the judge will certainly remember my clients , and could easily take offense to it , and therefore could not make an objective decision " . The three detained members of Pussy Riot were declared political prisoners by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners ( SPP ) . On March 25 , Amnesty International named them prisoners of conscience due to " the severity of the response of the Russian authorities " . 
