Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism that was motivated by religous hatred after the band performed a punk prayer and asked the Virgin Mary to get Russian PM Vladimir Putin out of office in a Moscow cathedral earlier this year.
Judge Marina Syrova said the women had "crudely undermined social order" during their action in February. Prosecutors are pushing for a three year jail sentence for the members of the band.
Last week, Alyokhina gave her testimony where she famously said, "I am not afraid of your poorly concealed fraud of a verdict in this so-called court because it can deprive me of my freedom. No one will take my inner freedom away."
UPDATE: Each member of the band has been sentenced to two years in jail.
UPDATE 2: Amnesty is looking to send colorful ski masks to Putin in protest. For more info, click HERE.
For more on Pussy Riot and how to help, click HERE.
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2 comments:
To be fair, if satanists would come to a church in the US and disrupt the service, they can be convicted for criminal tresspassing and disorderly conduct. 2 years is, of course, too harsh punishment. In Russia, an administrative punishment (up to 15 days arrest and a fine) would be the most suitable for this punk group action. The kangaroo trial showed that the Russian court is a laughingstock. The injustice starts with the fact that the Cathedral is the property of city of Moscow, and not Orthodox church. The city of Moscow cannot restrict freedom of speech as stated in Russian constitution. Beyond that, the judge refused to accept relevant witnesses, evidences, which outraged lawyers even on the prosecution side. It is a shame.
The decline of western civilization for real
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