Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot, said Friday that they plan to form a human rights group focusing on the protection of prisoners. The comments were delivered at a press conference held in Russia’s capital after the pair’s release from prison on Dec. 23, according to Billboard.

The two members plan to form the group, Zona Prava — which translates to “justice zone” — with former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky, a Kremlin critic, was recently released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for tax evasion and fraud, according to CNN.

“Khodorkovsky is very important for us as a very strong and resilient person. We hope to be able to collaborate on an ideological level,” said Tolokonnikova. “We feel a huge responsibility for people who are in prisons.”

Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were serving a two-year sentence after performing a song protesting the regime of Russian president Vladimir Putin, as part of the band Pussy Riot at a Moscow cathedral in February 2012. They were released early under a new amnesty bill introduced by Putin, according to CNN. Their originally scheduled release date was April 2014.

With a board featuring anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, as well as others, Zona Prava’s immediate plans include art programs for inmates. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina cite the need for a “cultural revolution” in Russian prisons. The pair also hope to grant international human rights organizations access to Russian prisons for inspection purposes.

Pussy Riot’s third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich — who was also jailed — was released on probation in October 2012. Samutsevich is welcome to assist in Zona Prava’s activities to progress prisoners’ rights, but the two stress that they will not use the Pussy Riot brand to advance their issue.

“We are not Pussy Riot now,” Tolokonnikova told reporters.

“We can promote our cause without playing any shows,” Alyokhina chimed in. “And we will never play any shows for money.”

Plans are to achieve funding for Zona Prava through crowd-sourcing.

While the musicians downplay political ambitions for the near future, “Human rights activities in Russia are inevitably linked to politics,” says Alyokhina.