The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has condemned the charges, today’s guilty verdict, and the harsh sentencing, in the trial of three members of the Russian feminist punk collective, Pussy Riot.
Defendants Maria Alyokhina (24), Yekaterina Samutsevich (30), and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (22) were found guilty today of “hooliganism” for their short protest inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral earlier this year. The presiding judge, Marina Syrova, said Pussy Riot were “motivated by religious enmity and hatred, and acted provocatively and in an insulting manner inside a religious building”.
Throughout the trial the judge reportedly overrode objections from the defense team, and allowed on behalf of the prosecution testimony such as that of a religious witness who complained of a “hurt soul”. During sentencing today the judge insinuated that Pussy Riot may have acted on behalf of a foreign state, merely on the basis that one member may have spent some time in Canada with her Russian-Canadian husband.
Pussy Riot’s musical interruption at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow, on 21 February this year, lasted less than a minute. The band described their demonstration as a protest against President Putin’s re-election and the Russian Orthodox Church’s increasingly close ties with the state; the Church’s Patriarch Kirill has previously described Putin-era rule as “a miracle from God”. Kirill then personally labeled the Pussy Riot protest “blasphemy” and demanded legal punishment.
The three Pussy Riot members including two mothers of young children have already been held under arrest since early March, and denied bail. All three have been sentenced to two years each in jail. This will include the months they have already been detained.
President of IHEU, Sonja Eggerickx, said today, “A total of six years in jail for three young activists is a shocking response to a protest that lasted less than a minute, which caused no physical harm or damage, and had a clear political message – in favor of democratic and secularist principles – shared by many Russian citizens. Being insulting or provocative per se is not unlawful in Russia, and should not constitute hate. We therefore condemn the verdict and the associated sentence.
“That this was the minimum sentence permitted given the verdict, only confirms that the particular charges should never have been brought. We therefore condemn the decision to bring these charges and prosecute with such vehemence.
“Rather than demonstrating that the Russian authorities and Russian Orthodox Church respect freedom of expression and can take criticism, they have demonstrated that any voice, no matter how small, is a threat to their power. In doing so they have not only elevated Pussy Riot, they have raised a storm of protest at home and prompted protests today at Russian embassies in several other countries. Overreaction to criticism will breed more criticism.
“We note also the alleged detention and assault of chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov among dozens of arrests made outside the court today in Moscow.
“As signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights, Russia leaves itself open to complaint at the European Court of Human Rights.”