Russian President Vladimir Putin has come out and told reporters in London that he doesn’t think Pussy Riot will be “judged too severely,” which is nice and all because hey it’s not like he has any say in the matter, right?

If you’re lost, here’s the scoop: Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich were arrested after staging a protest in February at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. The protest, which was against Putin’s controversial re-election, was condemned as being “motivated by religious hatred.”

This next part isn’t a joke: they were then charged with hooliganism, and the Russian Church has called for severe judgement of the trio on allegations of blasphemy.

All of this comes in the wings of accusations from the group’s lawyers, who say they’re being mistreated, poorly fed and deprived of sleep. The BBC points out that medics were called to the court to check on the trio when they said they weren’t feeling well.

While NME points out that everyone from Jarvis Cocker and Johnny Marr to Kate Nash have signed a letter calling for Pussy Riot’s release, and while Amnesty International has followed suit, calling the band members “prisoners of conscience,” it seems like Putin is staying out of this one. Which is an absolute shame, because if fully convicted the trio could see seven years behind bars for what many would consider to be a legal protest.