The Russian punk group Pussy Riot will be awarded the LennonOno Peace Award by the artist and activist Yoko Ono today in New York City. Three members of Pussy Riot were sentenced last month to two years in prison for staging a protest against Russian leader Vladimir Putin inside an Orthodox cathedral. The husband of jailed member Nadia Tolokonnikova will accept the award today. Pyotr Verzilov is in the United States along with Pussy Riot’s legal team in a bid to gather U.S. support for the group members’ release. On Thursday, Pussy Riot received a boost from Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently on her first visit to the United States in more than three decades.

Aung San Suu Kyi: “I don’t see why people shouldn’t sing whatever it is that they want to sing, and there’s nothing wrong with singing. I think the only reason why people should not sing is if what they are saying is deliberately insulting or if they sing terribly. I think that would be the best reason for not singing at all. So I would like the whole group to be released as soon as possible.”