Russia : Anti-Putin girl punk band to stay in jail

**Mid** · 22-07-2012, 05:25 AM

Anti-Putin girl punk band to stay in jail
Sat Jul 21 2012

The three members of Pussy Riot.
(AAP)

A Moscow court Friday ordered three young women on trial for staging an anti-Putin concert in a Moscow church to stay in jail until next year, a surprise move their lawyers branded "repression".

The Khamovnichesky court ruled that the detention of the members of the Pussy Riot punk rock group should be extended for another six months, satisfying a prosecution request.

The ruling came on the first day of the womens' trial on hooliganism charges for barging into a landmark Moscow church in February and singing a "punk prayer" calling for the ouster of President Vladimir Putin.

The trio, who face up to seven years in jail, have been held in pre-trial detention since March, and their harsh treatment has become a new rallying cause for the anti-Putin opposition.

Court spokeswoman Darya Lyakh said the new detention period would last until January 12. The next hearing would be held next week, on July 23.

"This is a political trial. This is not justice but repression with a political motive," one of their lawyers, Mark Feigin, said after the ruling.

The members of Pussy Riot, two of whom have young children, appeared to be in a relaxed mood and smiling as guards locked them into the defendants' cage in the Moscow courtroom.

However, the start of the trial was marked by chaotic scenes as journalists packed the court stairwell trying to gain access while a police dog that was brought into the courtroom barked loudly.

The defendants' lawyers said they had never seen a dog brought into court and considered it yet another form of pressure.

In February the three women -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina -- shocked worshippers by climbing into an area reserved for priests in the Church of Christ the Saviour, the country's top Orthodox cathedral, and singing the song against Putin.

Several others also took part in the action but they were not arrested.

Dozens of supporters carrying signs in support of the trio massed outside the court Friday.

"Russia is turning into a totalitarian state," Samutsevich's father Stanislav said outside the courthouse.

The Khamovnichesky court on the Moscow River banks is the same court that in 2010 saw the second trial of Russia's former richest man and Putin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fraud charges, sentencing him to jail until 2016.

The head of the court -- judge Viktor Danilkin, who presided over the Khodorkovsky case -- made his presence felt on the first day of the Pussy Riot trial, moving in the corridors and ordering journalists around.

The trial is being led by a different judge, Marina Syrova, but Pussy Riot's supporters pointed at the irony of the location.

"The regime loves a bit of theatre. The two most prominent trials of the last years have taken place in the same court, in neighbouring rooms," the anti-Putin Voina (War) art collective, to which Tolokonnikova is linked, wrote on Twitter.

More than 100 of Russia's best known actors, directors and musicians last month called for the release of the three women, saying their actions could not be prosecuted as Russia is a secular country.

Wearing trademark balaclavas, Pussy Riot caused a stir early in the year amid an upsurge of public disapproval of Putin by holding impromptu anti-Kremlin concerts at symbolic venues including Red Square.

Ahead of the trial, a leading segment on a prime-time show that aired Thursday evening on Russia's Channel One state television network called the band's performance "disgusting" and accused the members of seeking publicity.

"They are trying to portray (the performance) as an attack on Russia by some dark forces," said another defence lawyer, Nikolai Polozov. "It's theater of the absurd rather than an investigation or a trial."

news.ninemsn.com.au

**Bangyai** · 22-07-2012, 11:58 AM

I think the bloke 30 seconds in is holding a banner saying :

Free Pussy now !!

A sentiment a lot of us would gladly endorse.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 12:02 PM

This is what got them busted!

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 12:08 PM

PUNK MATRIARCHY ANGELS!

The movement is growing across Russia, as women fight using their Bristols.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 12:16 PM

More about the anti-Putin oligarchy protests across Russia. These women have almost 90% sympathy and support from the people.

**larvidchr** · 22-07-2012, 12:29 PM

The little mean 4,5 foot prick Putin suffering from serious penis envy, is compensating by abusing his powers and taking that Country back to the dark ages of the KGB.

The new NGO law another case in point.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a law which will tighten controls on civil rights groups funded from abroad, the his press office said on Saturday, a step opponents say is part of a campaign to suppress dissent.
The law, which was cleared by the upper house of parliament earlier in July, will force non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaging in “political activity” to register with the Justice Ministry as “foreign agents” and to file a report to officials every quarter.

Russia's New NGO Law is Unjustified, Unnecessary, Self-Defeating, and Generally a Really Bad Idea - Forbes

**harrybarracuda** · 22-07-2012, 12:51 PM

^ How else does he keep his snout in the trough?

**nostromo** · 22-07-2012, 03:34 PM

Putin Russia

Originally Posted by Mid

Anti-Putin girl punk band to stay in jail

Last claims of democracy in russia are now buried deep under siberian ground.

Putin - ex-KGB agent- has done good for himself and his people, but russia despite huge natural resources, remains in 3rd world. Sad for the people living in that russian gulag.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 06:03 PM

'Pussy Riot' punk band left to languish in jail for Putin protest

Three members of a feminist punk band arrested for singing a protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox church must remain in custody, a court ruled yesterday.

The trio, part of a collective called Pussy Riot, were told they would be kept in detention for a further six months, until at least 12 January. The case involving Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Ekaterina Samutsevich, 29, has split Russian society. The women have been in prison since they were arrested in February for performing an impromptu rendition of a song "Blessed Virgin, Mother Mary, Drive Putin Out!". They sang the "punk prayer" at the altar of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour two weeks before the presidential election that returned Mr Putin to the Kremlin. They could be jailed for seven years if they are convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred".

Rejecting a defence plea for their release on the first day of their trial, Judge Victor Danilkin ordered Ms Tolokonnikova, Ms Alyokhina and Ms Samutsevich to stay in jail, extending their time in detention to 10 months. Their lawyers said they would appeal. Mark Feigin, acting for the three women, said he had asked to summon witnesses including Mr Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Five women took part in the prank, dressed in the trademark coloured balaclavas worn by the Pussy Riot collective. Ms Tolokonnikova, Ms Alekhina and Ms Samutsevich were arrested a fortnight later after a video of the stunt went viral on YouTube.

On Thursday, a lawyer for one of the cathedral guards, who claims to have been a "victim" of the women's alleged hooliganism, accused Pussy Riot of being supported by the same "Satanic forces" that carried out the 11 September terrorist attack in New York in 2001.

The lawyer, Mikhail Kuznetsov, told Moskovskie Novosti his client "had suffered deeply" and lost sleep as a result of the incident. Mr Kuznetsov described the punk band as the "tip of an iceberg of extremists, trying to break down the thousand year edifice of the Russian Orthodox Church by creating a schism, guiding the flock through trickery and cunning not to God, but to Satan". He added: "Behind this stands real enemies of our state, and Church."

Pussy Riot and their supporters say they targeted the cathedral, on the banks of the Moscow River upstream from the Kremlin, because it is the church where Mr Putin and other dignitaries attend services, and symbolises what they see as an unhealthy alliance between the Church hierarchy and the state.

The defendants are accused of a "wilfully conscious and carefully planned action to humiliate the feelings and beliefs of many followers of the Orthodox Christian religion and diminish the spiritual foundations of the state". Their requests for bail have repeatedly been denied, despite two of the women having young children, and the case has become a controversy.

Cultural figures including the actress Chulpan Khamatova, who was criticised for publicly backing Mr Putin during the election campaign, have voiced support for the prisoners. Boris Akunin, a popular crime author, has called the "state's malice" towards the group "disgusting"

Not everyone feels the same way, however. One orthodox member of the Moscow city council said the women should be deprived of parental rights.

About a dozen opponents and supporters of the band jostled for space with bailiffs outside the court yesterday. Two pro-Pussy Riot protesters were arrested.

Those looking for political motives behind the prosecution have noted that in 2010 Judge Danilkin also presided over another highly politicised trial – that of the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky – in the same court.
'Pussy Riot' punk band left to languish in jail for Putin protest - Europe - World - The Independent

Shades of George Bush, Obama et al! The creeps at the top sing the same tune., be it in USA or Russia

And some background to the situation from Wikipedia.

On February 21, 2012, as a part of a protest movement against Vladimir Putin, Pussy Riot performed a punk rock song and Místico inspired dance in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. In the song, the group prayed to the “Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin” to “chase Putin out.” On March 3, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, two alleged members of Pussy Riot, were arrested by Russian authorities and accused of “hooliganism”, for which they face up to 7 years in prison. Both arrested women deny being members of the group and started a hunger strike in protest against being held in jail away from their young children until their case comes to trial in April.
On March 16, another woman, Ekaterina Samutsevitch, who had earlier been questioned as a witness in this case, was similarly arrested and charged. According to Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, all the women are charged with “hooliganism” according to article 213/2 of the Russian Criminal Code, without any evidence for incriminating such charges, which makes both pre-trial arrest and the charges illegal.

All three are recognized as political prisoners by the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners (SPP). Amnesty International named them prisoners of conscience due to "the severity of the response of the Russian authorities".

Opinions in Russia have been much more critical. Speaking at a liturgy in Moscow’s Deposition of the Robe Cathedral on March 21 2012, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill I condemned Pussy Riot's actions as "blasphemous" saying that the "Devil has laughed at all of us."
“We have no future if we allow mocking in front of great shrines, and if some see such mocking as some sort of valour, as an expression of political protest, as an acceptable action or a harmless joke,” the Patriarch said.

Meanwhile, several thousands of Orthodox and Catholic believers, the believers of other religions and atheists signed a petition to Patriarch Kirill, begging the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to stand up for the girls.[citation needed] Singer Alla Pugachyova appealed on the women's behalf, stating that they should be ordered to perform community service rather than be imprisoned.

By late June 2012, growing disquiet over the trio's detention without setting a trial date and concern over what was regarded as excessive and arbitrary treatment, led to the drawing up of an open letter. It was signed by leading oppositional figures as well as director Fyodor Bondarchuk, a supporter of Putin, and actors Chulpan Khamatova and Yevgeny Mironov, both of whom had appeared in videos for Putin's re-election campaign.

On 4 June the group was presented with formal charges on an indictment 2,800 pages long. On 4 July they were suddenly informed that they would have to finish preparing their defense by 9 July. They announced a hunger strike in response, saying that two working days was inadequate time for preparations for a trial defense.[16] On 21 July, the court extended their pre-trial detention by another six months.

**nostromo** · 22-07-2012, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by ENT

One orthodox member of the Moscow city council said the women should be deprived of parental rights

Originally Posted by ENT

About a dozen opponents and supporters of the band jostled for space with bailiffs outside the court yesterday. Two pro-Pussy Riot protesters were arrested.

About 10 and 2 arrested, tells quite a lot about russia. They are frightened. They do not come out. Anywhere west there would have been thousands. End of democracy in russia for about 200 years, back to slaves and all.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 06:45 PM

In the words to the song Punk's Prayer that Pussy Riot sang in the cathedral, you can see why Putin got steamed up.

The man has an inferiority complex, reflected in the way he promotes himself as a great macho man, publicity shots of him barre chested on horseback, engaging in all sorts of "manly" stuff and making out that he's the cat's pyjamas.

His attempts at singing are pitiful, but like all "great" leaders, Thaksin for example, he likes to bore people to death with his off key modulations.
Even worse is his way of surrounding himself with pretty girls, much like the buffoon Berlusconi.
Notive how all three exercised as much control as possible over the media?

Putin was behind the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with Polonium in London in 2006.
Litvinenko was an associate of Putin's in the KGB, and knew him well, his weak points and his strengths, so was a personal threat to Putin's ambitions, and as a double agent posed an even greater threat, so his demise.

The connection between Putin and the church is also part of his false image, the bells of Moscow ringing out for his election victory, and his many pious appearances in photo shoots with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, himself a bloody great hypocrite and liar, who was caught wearing an expensive watch (against church rules of poverty), but had it photo-shopped off his wrist only for the reflection of the watch to be seen in the polished wooden table his arm rested on at the time.

Punk's Prayer
Virgin, Virgin, Putin Put
Put Putin, Putin Put
(End chorus)

The black robe, gold epaulettes
All parishioners are crawling on the bow
The ghost of freedom in heaven
Pride sent to Siberia in chains

The head of the KGB, their chief saint
Leads protesters in prison under the escort
In order not to offend the Holy
Women need to have and to love

Holy shit, shit, shit the Lord
Holy shit, shit, shit the Lord

(Chorus)
Virgin, Virgin, become a feminist
Become a feminist, a feminist stand
(End chorus)

Church Praise rotten vodzhey
The procession of black limousines
In school you going to the preacher
Go to class – bring him money!

Patriarch Gundyaev believe in Putin’s
It would be better in God, bitch, believed
Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for meetings -
In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!

(Chorus)

Virgin, Virgin, Putin Put
Put Putin, Putin Put
(End chorus)

**Kurgen** · 22-07-2012, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by ENT

The movement is growing across Russia, as women fight using their Bristols.

Women using their bristols is a great idea, much better than them reverse parking.

**Butterfly** · 22-07-2012, 06:50 PM

the USA is no different, they are just better at hiding it

**Kurgen** · 22-07-2012, 06:52 PM

Double post

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by nostromo

Originally Posted by ENT

About a dozen opponents and supporters of the band jostled for space with bailiffs outside the court yesterday. Two pro-Pussy Riot protesters were arrested.

About 10 and 2 arrested, tells quite a lot about russia. They are frightened. They do not come out. Anywhere west there would have been thousands. End of democracy in russia for about 200 years, back to slaves and all.

One reason for that is they were only given a few days to prepare their defence after a date for appearance at court was served on them, there simply was not enough time for the news to get around.
You know what the Russian media is like.

Here's what happened in court.

Pussy Riot detention drawn out 6-months, public outraged

Published: 21 July, 2012, 04:10
Edited: 22 July, 2012, 03:11

A Moscow court’s decision to detain the members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot for another 6 months has sparked a new wave of public outrage. The girls' lawyers are now seeking President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill as witnesses in the case.

The Moscow City Court has ruled that Pussy Riot's members, who have already spent nearly five months in pre-trial detention, will remain in custody until January 2013. The girls’ lawyers called the case a theater of the absurd, and a show trial dictated by officials who want to see the girls serve serious jail time.

The lawyers said that it was a “hell” inside the courtroom, and that the prosecutors could not keep their arguments straight. Defense lawyer Violetta Volkova said that the prosecutors “believe that the recent murder of the Mufti was provoked by the actions of the defendants, which is why they must remain in custody.”
“Today's decision only proves again that our role as defendants here is a pure formality,” said another lawyer, Mark Feigin. “It is not a process but a judicial reprisal.”

The defense said it had filed several motions to bring “experts” – including President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill – to testify before the court, but the motions were rejected.

"The patriarch has repeatedly spoken out about events in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In addition to that, he was rector of the church and believers need to hear his opinion," Feigin said. And Putin, Feigin claims, has a “decisive influence” on the court, which makes him a material witness to the case.
Both Church officials and the executive branch earlier denied having any hand in the trial, saying the court is acting independently in regards to the case. Pussy Riot supporters, however, maintain that the girls are being targeted specifically for their anti-clerical and anti-government stance.
http://www.rt.com/news/pussy-riot-cu...c-outrage-722/

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:02 PM

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will give priority consideration to a lawsuit concerning the continued detention of Russia’s Pussy Riot punk group, their lawyer said on Tuesday.
Moscow city court rejected on Monday an appeal for the release from custody of three women from the group. The suspects face up to seven years in jail over an anti-Putin protest staged in February in Russia’s main cathedral. They have all been in custody since March.
Lawyer Violetta Volkova said a motion was sent to the ECHR in mid-June and she had received confirmation on Monday that the suit had been accepted for priority consideration.
“We will submit the full package of documents by August 16,” she wrote in her Twitter account.
Amnesty International has recognized the suspects as prisoners of conscience and the Kremlin's own rights council has supported a letter by dozens of public figures calling for their release. Two of the suspects have small children.
European Rights Court to Give Priority to Pussy Riot Case | Russia | RIA Novosti

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:10 PM

Support!

Public event · By Riot Grrrls United
Saturday, 21 April 2012
00:00 until 23:30
everywhere-be creative!
Riot Grrrls and allies around the world demand the release of Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Santsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova who are currently in pre-trial detention at least until April 21 (maybe 24th!), when the consideration of their case will be continued. They have been held under a SUSPICION (!!!) that they were involved in a peaceful protest with a group known as 'Pussy Riot'. The women deny these charges.

LET'S DO A GLOBAL ACTION DAY WITH MANY PROTESTS ALL AROUND THE WORLD! BE CREATIVE! BE SMAR...See more
http://www.facebook.com/events/314311478624378/

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:14 PM

Prtotesters arrested.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:22 PM

Pussy Riot Goes International
The band takes the show to Prague while members must remain in jail

Some of the non incarcerated members of Pussy Riot took their cause to the Czech Republic yesterday, staging a performance in Prague against the detainment of their three bandmates who are currently awaiting trial.
The remaining members of Pussy Riot staged a protest from the balcony of an office building, where they dropped banners, lip synced several of their songs and threw out flyers asking for help from the world in gaining support to pressure the Russian government for the release of the imprisoned band members.

It's an attempt to increase awareness of a situation in Russia that's much bigger than the imprisonment of three Russian punk musicians.
More;
Pussy Riot Goes International

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:26 PM

Pussy Riot Grrls Practice International.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:28 PM

Pussy Riot Grrrls Edinburgh

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:36 PM

Poland.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:42 PM

Arizona solidarity.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 07:49 PM

Anti Flag Dublin, support Pussy Riot.

**ENT** · 22-07-2012, 08:35 PM

Washington USA....it's growing by the day. .

Rally for Pussy Riot in Washington, DC

Three members of the Russian feminist punk rock collective known as "Pussy Riot" could face up to 7 years in prison for performing a song.

Join Amnesty International, DC artist Andrea Collins, and local DC punk rock bands as we protest in front of the Russian Embassy in support of Pussy Riot.
Friday, July 27
4:30PM-8PM
Contact: jheiss@aiusa.org

Corner of Wisconsin Ave. and Edmunds St., across from Russian Embassy
2650 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20007
United States
See map: Google Maps
RSVP on Facebook
http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/ral...-washington-dc

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