21 Jul 2012 | Europe and Central Asia, News
Khamovnichesky court in Moscow has prolonged the detention of three Pussy Riot members until 12 January. The term of their arrest should have expired on 24 July, but the judge complied with the prosecution’s application to prolong the detention for 6 more months.
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Semutsevich have been accused of hooliganism for allegedly staging an anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Friday 20 July was the first day of preliminary hearings on Pussy Riot case. The judge was expected to set the date for the trial; decide whether it would be closed, and consider several applications. But the only thing the judge did was satisfying the prosecution’s application on detention prolongation.
On Monday 23 July, Pussy Riot’s defence team will apply to call president Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox church, to the court as witnesses.
Dozens of Pussy Riot supporters gathered near the court building to protest against the band’s prosecution. Four of them were arrested after chanting out anti-Kremlin slogans and spreading pro-Pussy Riot leaflets.
Russian intellectuals and artists have condemned Pussy Riot members’ persecution in an open letter, stating the criminal case “compromises the Russian judicial system” and “undermines the confidence in Russian authorities”. The letter was signed by notable directors, writers and actors, including Viktor Shenderovich, Dmitry Bykov, Chulpan Khamatova, Mikhail Zhvanetskty, Eldar Ryazanov.
Not many of them attended Pussy Riot protest action on 20 July. As Grigory Chkhartishvily told Index on Censorship, it would be right for Russian intellectuals, who supported Pussy Riot in the open letter, to “devirtualise” so that the authorities could “note they exist”. He also said the Pussy Riot case raises the issue of the state using “medieval church standards instead of judicial ones”.
The number of protesters near the court on 20 July did not exceed 100 people. One of them, notable Russian poet Lev Rubinstein, told Index that in spite of international rights activists’ community concerns over Pussy Riot’s persecution, “most people in Russia are simply not aware of Pussy Riot case, or have heard the name and condemn the women without finding out the details.”
There are two reasons for this: Censorship on Russian television prevents the public from understanding the Pussy Riot story in detail, and the lack of solidarity between activists in Moscow and other Russian cities prevents others from protesting against the group’s prosecution outside the capital.
21 Jul 2012 | Russia
The Khamovnichesky court in Moscow has prolonged the detention of three Pussy Riot members until 12 January. The term of their arrest should have expired on 24 July, but the judge complied with the prosecution’s application to prolong the detention for 6 more months.
Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Semutsevich have been accused of hooliganism for allegedly staging an anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
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20 Jul 2012 | Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
Three members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot have had their detention extended by a further six months by a Moscow court, reports say [ru]. Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Semutsevic will remain in jail until at least January 2013, with their detention already being extended from 24 June to late July. The trio were arrested in March and face charges of hooliganism for allegedly staging an anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February. If convicted they face up to seven years in prison.
Pussy Riot spoke to us exclusively in May, read the interview here.
6 Jul 2012 | Russia
Tens of people gathered near Moscow’s Tagansky Court on Wednesday to protest against the prosecution of members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot.
Three activists locked themselves in a cage near the court building and police struggled hard to unlock it and detain them “for taking part in an unsanctioned rally”. Six other activists were detained for having stood in the traffic area near the court. They later faced administrative charges for “breaking the rules of the rally organisation”.
Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Semutsevich have been accused of hooliganism for allegedly staging an anti-Putin performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The court set a deadline for the women to acquaint themselves with the criminal case reading materials. They have until 9 July to read the volumes which, according to one of their their lawyers, Mark Feigin, “violates the defence’s righs to get prepared for the proceedings,” as they do not have enough time to read them. The trio announced a hunger-strike in protest.
Outside the court building people wore t-shirts with the band’s picture and white ribbons, a symbol of protest against Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian policy. Most of them told Index they did not believe their actions could influence Pussy Riot’s destiny, but nor could could staying silent
Russian intellectuals and artists have condemned Pussy Riot members’ persecution in an open letter, stating the criminal case “compromises the Russian judicial system” and “undermines the confidence in Russian authorities”. The letter was signed by notable directors, writers and actors, including Viktor Shenderovich, Dmitry Bykov, Chulpan Khamatova, Mikhail Zhvanetskty, Eldar Ryazanov.
Rock group Faith No More invited free Pussy Riot members to participate in their Moscow concert on 2 July, where the women asked to “support their sisters” and chanted out:
Russian rebellion. We do exist. Russian rebellion. Putin has pissed with fear.
However, the number of protesters near the court on 4 July did not exceed 300 people. One of them, notable Russian poet Lev Rubinshtein, told Index that in spite of international rights activists’ community concerns over Pussy Riot’s persecution, “most people in Russia are simply not aware of Pussy Riot case, or have heard the name and condemn the women without finding out the details.”
This lies in two things: censorship on Russian television prevents the public from understanding the Pussy Riot story in detail, and the lack of solidarity between activists in Moscow and other Russian cities prevents others from protesting against the group’s prosecution outside the capital.
