Russian authorities are making an example of dissenting punk band Pussy Riot. But will a harsh sentence silence public dissent? Photo: 1Veertje
Update: On Monday 29th August, Pussy Riot’s trial began on Moscow. If convicted of hooliganism, the three band members face up to seven years in prison.
Update: On Friday, 15th June, Vladimir Putin signed a new law that will increase fines 150-fold for those who participate in unsanctioned demonstrations. The new penalties would be crippling to most Russians, with fines ranging from £5,000 for an individual to £19,000 for companies. For those who cannot pay, the fine is to be replaced with mandatory labour of up to 200 hours. Detained members of Pussy Riot will remain jailed until their 24th June trial date.
Update: On 22nd May, Russia’s lower house passed a draft bill that would increase the maximum fine for participation in an unsanctioned protest from 5,000 rubles (£100) to one million rubles (£20,300), while fines for organising an unsanctioned protest will rise from 50,000 rubles (£1000) to 1.5 million rubles (£30,500).
The detention of Russian punk-rock band Pussy Riot should put the country’s arbitrary use of the charge of hooliganism on the dock.
On February 21st, the group stormed the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and performed a “punk prayer” sending calls of “Blessed Virgin, drive Putin away!” echoing through its gilded domes. The act caused an outcry among Orthodox believers and less than a month after the impromptu gig three alleged members of the group had been arrested.
Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samucevich now face up to seven years in prison under a charge of hooliganism—a threat that haunts Moscow’s nascent opposition movement.
Ten days after the initial arrests, Olga Allenova, a journalist working for the liberal business daily newspaper Kommersant, wrote:
“I am a person of liberal views, but this action [by Pussy Riot] has angered me…[Yet] in my opinion, it is worth limiting administrative detention and letting the women go home to their children. Then this episode will be forgotten in a couple of days.”
That was written more than two months ago. Last month a Moscow court ruled that the women could be held in detention until 24th June as they “could become the targets of criminal acts.”
Few in Russia give much credence to the…
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