Russian band "Pussy Riot" gets 2 year prison sentence for political protests.
Russian punk band's plight galvanizes artists, rights groups, leaders August 17, 2012 | 12:36 pm The prison sentencing Friday of members of the band Pussy Riot by a Russian court has united a diverse list of pop stars, human rights advocates and political leaders from around the world who view the imprisonment of the band as a shocking example of Kremlin repression. Paul McCartney, Madonna, Sting, Bjork and up-and-coming punksters were joined by the U.S. government, the European Union, Human Rights Watch and a civil society foundation headed by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov in expressing concern for the fate of freedom of speech in Russia. The two-year prison sentences handed down by a Russian court after a widely denounced trial galvanized the disparate voices and appeals for clemency for the band members, whose February "punk prayer" for Russian leader Vladimir Putin's downfall was met with what is viewed as a concerted effort to stifle dissent in post-Soviet Russia. Commentaries posted to media websites in the United States and Europe condemned the Russian leadership for punishing the trio for staging a political protest stunt at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, which prosecutors branded "premeditated hooliganism" and charged the women with a hate crime. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich stood in handcuffs in a glassed-in dock of the Moscow courtroom as the verdict was read and witnesses were cited accusing them of sacrilege and Satanic gestures in the hallowed temple of the Russian Orthodox Church. The judge's reading was interrupted by a blast of punk rock music from an apartment across the street from the courtroom, The Times' Sergei Loiko reported from the scene. At least 60 supporters protesting outside the courthouse, including Kasparov, were arrested and taken away by police. While Pussy Riot was little known outside Moscow alternative music circles until the cathedral protest six months ago -- despite provocative stunts including nudity and public orgies -- it has soared to international attention since then as a symbol of reinvigorated Kremlin repression of dissent and artistic expression. "The United States is concerned about both the verdict and the disproportionate sentences handed down by a Moscow court in the case against the members of the band Pussy Riot and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia," the U.S. State Department said in a statement read by spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "We urge Russian authorities to review this case and ensure that the right to freedom of expression is upheld." Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, warned Moscow that by punishing the women it was violating commitments to respect individual rights and freedoms. "This sentence is disproportionate. Together with the reports of the band members' mistreatment during their pre-trial detention and the reported irregularities of the trial, it puts a serious question mark over Russia's respect for international obligations of fair, transparent and independent legal process," Ashton said in a statement. A flood of comments and criticism via Twitter drew in activists of all ilks, including the Occupy Wall Street movement, which retweeted a comment that the trio being accused of undermining the social order in Russia was "possibly the proudest charge one could have." Some commentaries, like an unsigned posting on the Russia Today news site, described the Pussy Riot case as a lightning rod for the clash of traditional concepts of morality and the hedonistic excesses of alternative art. "It seems that the Russian girls, whatever we think about this sort of ‘art,’ accidentally put their finger on one the most sensitive issues not only for Russia, but for many people worldwide," the article observed. "What are the moral limitations of the global community, where habitual views, norms and rules are eroding?" Other tweets likened the Russian government's intervention on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church to the attempts of conservative U.S. politicians, like failed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, to enshrine fundamentalist Christian beliefs in social policies on contraception and extramarital sex.
Pussy Riot mercy sought by Russian clerics![]()
Pussy Riot mercy sought by Russian clerics by Mansur Mirovalev - Aug. 18, 2012 12:13 PM Associated Press MOSCOW -- Russia's top Orthodox clerics on Saturday asked for mercy for the punk band Pussy Riot for its anti-government protest in a Moscow cathedral, but the church's forgiveness is unlikely to change the band's punishment in a case that caused an international furor over political dissent. Despite its plea for clemency for the three rock activists, a leading cleric called the demonstration "awful" and defiant of the powerful church that is the heart of Russia's national identity. The case, which ended Friday with the three band members' conviction for hooliganism and sentence to two years each in prison, became an emblem of Russia's intolerance of dissent and was widely seen as a warning that authorities will tolerate opposition only under tightly controlled conditions. Tikhon Shevkunov, who is widely believed to be President Vladimir Putin's spiritual counselor, said on state television Saturday that his church forgave the singers after their "punk prayer" in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow in February. "We did forgive them from the very start. But such actions should be cut short by society and authorities," said the cleric, who heads Moscow's Sretensky Monastery. Archpriest Maxim Kozlov agreed, but he also said on state TV that his church hopes the young women and their supporters change their ways. "We are simply praying and hoping that these young women and all these people shouting in front of the court building, committing sacrilegious acts not only in Russia but in other countries, realize that their acts are awful," he said. "And despite this the church is asking for mercy within the limits of law." Both clerics supported the court's decision to prosecute Pussy Riot, despite an international outcry that incited global protests from Moscow to New York and condemnation from musicians like Madonna and Paul McCartney. Governments, including those in the United States, Britain, France and Germany, denounced the sentences as disproportionate. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were arrested in March after dancing and high-kicking in the cathedral as they called on the Virgin Mary to save Russia from Putin, who was elected to a third term as Russia's president two weeks later. A Moscow court sentenced them Friday following a trial that was widely seen as Kremlin-orchestrated. The conviction comes in the wake of several recently passed laws cracking down on opposition, including one that raised the fine for taking part in an unauthorized demonstrations by 150 times to 300,000 rubles (about $9,000). Another measure requires non-government organizations that both engage in vaguely defined political activity and receive funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents." The Pussy Riot case has underlined the vast influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Although church and state are formally separate, critics say its strength and symbolism in the country effectively makes it a quasi-state entity. Some Orthodox groups and many believers had urged strong punishment for an action they consider blasphemous. The church has a history of cracking down on its critics in post-Soviet Russia: Gleb Yakunin, a priest and former lawmaker was defrocked and excommunicated after discovering in the early 1990s that church leaders had been enlisted as KGB agents. The current head of the church, Patriarch Kirill, has made no secret of his strong support for Putin, praising his leadership as "God's miracle," and has described the punk performance as part of an assault by "enemy forces" on the church. The church has ardently backed the Kremlin, consecrating new nuclear missiles as "Russia's guardian angels" and urged young Russians to volunteer for military service in Chechnya. At the time of the prank, Kirill himself was a focus of the growing opposition to the church. His reputation was tarnished by a pair of scandals involving a €30,000 ($38,832) Breguet watch he was seen wearing and a court case in which he won 20 million rubles ($630,000) from a cancer-stricken neighbor -- despite his monastic vows not to have any worldly possessions while serving the church. In a statement on Friday, the Orthodox Church called the band's stunt a "sacrilege" and a "reflection of rude animosity toward millions of people and their feelings." It also asked the authorities to "show clemency toward the convicted in the hope that they will refrain from new sacrilegious actions." Meanwhile, new appeals for the band's release came from the entertainment world. Madonna called the sentence "harsh" and "inhumane" in a statement Saturday and asked the court to change its mind. "I call on all those who love freedom to condemn this unjust punishment. I urge artists around the world to speak up in protest against this travesty," the musician said. "They've spent enough time in jail. I call on ALL of Russia to let Pussy Riot go free," she said.
2 Pussy Riot members flee Russia to escape arrest Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Two members of the punk band Pussy Riot have fled Russia to avoid prosecution for a protest against Vladimir Putin that sent three of their band mates to prison, the group said Sunday. Five members of the feminist group took part in a provocative performance inside Moscow's main cathedral in February to protest the Russian leader's rule and his cozy relationship with the Orthodox Church. The women wore their trademark garishly colored balaclavas, which made it difficult for police to identify them, and only three were arrested. After a controversial trial that highlighted Putin's crackdown on dissent since he began a third presidential term in May, the three band members were convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to two years in prison on Aug. 17. Days later, Moscow police said they were searching for the other band members, an apparent warning to the group to stop its anti-Putin protests. Even as the judge was reading the verdict in a Moscow courtroom, one of the band members who had escaped arrest played Pussy Riot's latest song, "Putin sets the fires of revolutions," from the balcony of an apartment building across the street. Pussy Riot tweeted on Sunday that the two activists had fled Russia and are "recruiting foreign feminists to prepare new protest actions." No mention was made of where they went. At least 12 other members of the group remain in Russia, another message on Twitter said.
Las Pussy Riot apelaron condena a dos años de campo Organización Editorial Mexicana 27 de agosto de 2012 AFP Moscú.- Las tres jóvenes integrantes del grupo punk de rock ruso Pussy Riot apelaron el lunes el fallo que las condenó a dos años de campo por una "oración" contra el presidente Vladimir Putin en una catedral, indicó a la AFP uno de los abogados de la defensa, Violetta Volkova. "Todos los papeles están en el expediente" depositado ante el tribunal municipal de Moscú, declaró Volkova. El 17 de agosto pasado, tres miembros de Pussy Riot, Nadejda Tolokonnikova, 22 años, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 años, y Maria Alejina, 24 años, fueron condenadas por un tribunal de Moscú a dos años de reclusión por "vandalismo" e "incitación al odio religioso". Tres días más tarde, la policía rusa anunció que estaba buscando a las dos otras integrantes del grupo que subieron también el pasado 21 de febrero al altar de la catedral del Cristo Salvador de Moscú para cantar una 'oración' de protesta contra Putin. El domingo, el grupo anunció que esas dos personas había huido de Rusia para eludir a la justicia. El juicio a las Pussy Riot ha recibido una lluvia de críticas en el extranjero y su condena ha sido calificada de "desproporcionada". Las tres mujeres han recibido numerosas muestras de apoyo en el mundo entero, en particular de artistas como Paul McCartney, Madonna, Sting o Yoko Ono, la viuda de John Lennon. Asimismo, se realizaron manifestaciones en varias capitales europeas para denunciar el proceso, desde París a Bruselas, pasando por Londres o Barcelona. |