Nadya Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina recorded the song, "I
Can't Breathe," in New York last December after a grand jury
decided not to indict a white New York City police officer in
Garner's death.
The pair said they dedicated their first song in English to
Garner and titled it, "I can't breathe,' which were the words he
repeated before his death.
"This song is for Eric and all those from Russia to America and
around the globe who suffer from state terror - killed, chocked,
perished because of war and state sponsored violence of all
kinds," they said in a statement.
In the video released on YouTube the singers, shown wearing
Russian riot police uniforms, are slowly buried alive as soil is
shoveled on them.
The song begins with the lyrics, "He's become his death/The
spark of the riots/That's the way he's blessed/To stay alive,"
and ends with punk pioneer Richard Hell reading Garner's final
words.
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova spent nearly two years in prison
after being convicted of hooliganism motivated by religion
following a "punk prayer" protest in 2012 against Russian
President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral.
Their arrest and nearly two-year prison sentence sparked a
global outcry. They were released in 2013 after Putin granted
them amnesty.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Eric Kelsey and David
Gregorio)
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