Prosecutors had asked for three years — the charge of hooliganism motivated
by religious hatred carries a maximum of seven years — but after nearly three
hours spent reading a summary of the trial from a red, leather-bound book, the
judge said each woman would get two years. The case was so controversial that
the judge’s face was not shown on the video feed for those who could not pack
into the crowded courtroom. The defense said it would appeal the sentence.
Some activists had been holding out hope that the women would be sentenced
to time already served.
The women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina
Samutsevich, 30, have been in jail since March. They are members of a
feminist collective called Pussy Riot and were relatively unknown singers and
activists until their protests coincided with a rise in anti-government
sentiment over the winter.
Now they have become an international
cause, described as prisoners of conscience and caught up in a show trial
reminiscent of the days of Stalinist repression. A sentence of time already
served would have been seen as a sign of Kremlin tolerance for dissent; a
sentence of three years or more would have been interpreted as an indication
that now-President Putin wants to put down all challenges to his presidency, no
matter the cost.
The judge’s recitation Friday dwelled on what sounded like an offense to the
church rather than the state. She quoted at length witnesses who said they were
believers deeply offended by the one-minute performance.
One witness said that the young women violated the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior dress code with their short dresses and that women were expected to
behave modestly in church. Another said public prayers were not permitted in
the cathedral without the presence of a priest. If that wasn’t bad enough, one
witness said, the performance occurred just before Lent.
While the judge plowed through her 80 pages of text, a crowd of about 1,000
had gathered outside, mostly supporters of the young women who shouted
anti-Putin slogans and chants of “Down with a police state.” A string quartet
played on the sidewalk.
Many in the crowd shouted “Russia without Putin,” and others called out
“Christ is risen.” A few Orthodox believers waved icons. One carried a sign
saying, “It’s porno, not art.”
As the court convened, police wearing black berets waded into the crowd,
plucking out demonstrators here and there and hauling them off to police vans.
Among those arrested was Garry Kasparov, the chess champion and anti-Putin
activist.
The trial came as the Russian parliament passed a series of laws in July meant to contain protest by
requiring human rights and election-monitoring organizations, among other
groups that receive foreign funds, to register as foreign agents. Another law
imposes huge fines for slander. Violations of rules governing public gatherings
also carry the threat of substantial fines, as well as prohibition from
organizing protests.
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OSCE -
Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe
OSCE
- FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AT STAKE, WARNS OSCE MEDIA FREEDOM REPRESENTATIVE
FOLLOWING RUSSIA COURT PUSSY RIOT VERDICT