Russian court rejects parole appeal of Pussy Riot member

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the feminist punk band, Pussy Riot, listens from behind bars at a district court in Saransk on Friday, July 26, 2013. (AP)

SARANSK, Russia -- A court has rejected an appeal by a member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot against a previous court ruling that denied her an early release.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has served a year and a half out of her two-year prison sentence and was appealing for parole. Along with two other band members, she was convicted of hooliganism following Pussy Riot's punk performance against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral last year.

Representatives of the penal colony where Tolokonnikova is serving her term told the court that she should not be released because she never repented. The Pussy Riot member said that she would never plead guilty because she did the right thing.