Russia: Pussy Riot found guilty

17 Aug 2012

Demotix Three members of feminist punk band Pussy Riot were today found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” by a Moscow court, and sentenced to two years in prison.

Kirsty Hughes, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship, said:

“In Putin’s Russia, free expression has become a crime. The women of Pussy Riot should be released immediately  — and should never have been  put through this absurd case.  Artistic expression is not a crime — it’s a right, and an integral part of all free societies.  The PussyRiot verdict is the latest indication that Vladimir Putin’s Russia does not respect human rights and is sliding backwards to dictatorship”.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevic were arrested in March, after performing a 40-second “punk prayer” against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Church. The case has been condemned by activists as being politically motivated, and has drawn criticism from well-known musicians from across the globe.

READ MORE ABOUT PUSSY RIOT

For media enquiries on this story, please contact Padraig Reidy: padraig@indexoncensorship.org /  @mePadraigReidy

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  1. max walyer

    August 23, 2012 at 00:07

    Try to do the same thıng ın Saınt Peter church (Rome), or ın Notre Dame(Parıs), or ın Saınt Paul cathedral (London) and lets see what happen! Freedom for Julıan Assange!!!

  2. Five bizarre blasphemy cases | UNCUT

    August 23, 2012 at 10:08

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  3. Five bizarre blasphemy cases | Index on Censorship

    August 23, 2012 at 10:19

    [...] this year.RUSSIA — PUSSY RIOTThree members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot were this month sentenced to two years in prison after being charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” for [...]

  4. Putin’s grip on the internet | UNCUT

    August 29, 2012 at 13:28

    [...] The period after Putin returned to Kremlin will stay in Russians’ memory as a time of scandalous criminal prosecutions and controversial laws, which in spite of people’s protests were passed by the [...]

  5. Some bizarre blasphemy cases played down by international media….. « The Passive Voices

    September 9, 2012 at 07:46

    [...] from around the world this year. Three members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot were this month sentenced to two years in prison after being charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” [...]

  6. Pussy Riot father: “Putin is a symbol of a sick system” | UNCUT

    September 10, 2012 at 10:16

    [...] member, Ekaterina Samutsevich. She, together with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, was sentenced to two years in the women’s prison colony on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred after [...]

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