Glitterati handing out prizes to jailed Pussy Riot members

Moscow, September 21 (Interfax) - The three jailed women members of Russia's Pussy Riot punk bank will not see the Lennon-Ono Peace Prize that has been awarded to them before they are released, Pyotr Verzilov, husband of one of the convicts, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, told Interfax.

Verzilov arrived in the United States several days ago to attend the prize awarding ceremony, scheduled for Friday.

"I've brought our daughter Gera with me, and it is her that the prize will be handed to," he said.

News that they had won the prize was is "a terrific act of support" for the three young women, Verzilov said.

"To receive a prize from the hands of one of the greatest legends of world music, Yoko Ono, is a very great honor. The very fact that the prize has been conferred on the members of Pussy Riot shows us to what extent the entire civilized world is shocked that three girls in Russia have been sentenced to two years in prison for an anti-Putin prayer in church," he said.

"This shows that the values that John Lennon, Yoko Ono and others were fighting for a while ago have been flagrantly violated."

Verzilov said he would be unable to pass the prize to the three musicians. "It will wait for them to be released," he said.