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Russia

Top French Diplomat In Moscow To Challenge Russia On Pussy Riot Verdict

FRANCE DIPLOMATIE, LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France), THE VOICE OF RUSSIA (Russia)

Worldcrunch

On August 17, when three members of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a penal colony, the verdict sparked outrage around the world: the U. S. State Department asked Russia to “review this case and to ensure that the right to freedom of expression is upheld,” while Amnesty International called the conviction “a bitter blow for freedom of expression.”

Almost three weeks have passed since the ruling, and although petitions were signed, and protests were held, governments opposing the verdict have taken few significant steps to truly challenge Russia.

But now, the first concrete reaction has arrived from the self-declared "country of human rights" itself. France's Ambassador-at-large for Human Rights François Zimeray has arrived in Moscow to try to meet with three members of Pussy Riot, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

"François Zimeray will be in Moscow from September 3 to 5. He has asked to visit the three Pussy Riot members who have been in prison for the past six months," according to Philippe Laliot, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted by Le Nouvel Observateur.

Zimeray will meet his Foreign Ministry counterpart and "recall that France supports the principles of freedom of expression and opinion throughout the world," the ministry's official website France Diplomatie reports.

It is still not clear whether Zimeray will be granted access to visit the jailed women. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Yekaterina Samutsevitch, 30, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, were each sentenced to two years in camp for "hooliganism" and "inciting religious hatred" in February and March after singing an anti-Putin "punk prayer" at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys of the rock band have waved off as “unacceptable and outrageous” the request by the Russian “Man and Law” television program to have the trio publicly apologize before the nation, Voice of Russia reports.

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Migrant Lives

They Migrated From Chiapas When Opportunities Dried Up, Orchids Brought Them Home

An orchid rehabilitation project is turning a small Mexican community into a tourist magnet — and attracting far-flung locals back to their hometown.

They Migrated From Chiapas When Opportunities Dried Up, Orchids Brought Them Home

Marcos Aguilar Pérez takes care of orchids rescued from the rainforest in his backyard in Santa Rita Las Flores, Mapastepec, Chiapas, Mexico.

Adriana Alcázar González/GPJ Mexico
Adriana Alcázar González

MAPASTEPEC — Sweat cascades down Candelaria Salas Gómez’s forehead as she separates the bulbs of one of the orchids she and the other members of the Santa Rita Las Flores Community Ecotourism group have rescued from the rainforest. The group houses and protects over 1,000 orchids recovered from El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, after powerful storms.

“When the storms and heavy rains end, we climb to the vicinity of the mountains and collect the orchids that have fallen from the trees. We bring them to Santa Rita, care for them, and build their strength to reintegrate them into the reserve later,” says Salas Gómez, 32, as she attaches an orchid to a clay base to help it recover.

Like magnets, the orchids of Santa Rita have exerted a pull on those who have migrated from the area due to lack of opportunity. After years away from home, Salas Gómez was one of those who returned, attracted by the community venture to rescue these flowers and exhibit them as a tourist attraction, which provides residents with an adequate income.

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