Anti-Putin Russian Female Punk Band Found Guilty of ‘Hooliganism’ — Get 2 Yrs in Jail
- Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:01am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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UPDATE:
The AP reports that the group has been sentenced:
A Moscow judge sentenced three members of the provocative punk band Pussy Riot to two years in prison each on hooliganism charges on Friday following a trial that has drawn international outrage as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent.
The trial sparked a wave of protests around the world in support of the feminist rockers, who have been dubbed prisoners of conscience by international rights group. Hundreds of Pussy Riot supporters chanted “Russia without Putin!” amid a heavy police presence outside the courtroom, and several opposition leaders were detained.
Original story below.
Members of the all-girl punk band 'Pussy Riot' Yekaterina Samutsevich (L), Maria Alyokhina (C) and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (R) sit in a glass-walled cage during a court hearing in Moscow on Agust 17, 2012. The three women from a tiny punk band captured global attention by defying the Russian authorities and ridiculing President Vladimir Putin in a church. Pussy Riot release rallies have stretched from Sydney to New York as a growing list of celebrities joined ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and pop icon Madonna in a campaign directed against Putin's crackdown on most dissent. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
MOSCOW (TheBlaze/AP) — A Russian judge found three members of the provocative punk band Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism on Friday, in one of the most closely watched cases in recent Russian history.
The judge said the three band members committed hooliganism driven by religious hatred and offending religious believers.
The three were arrested in March after a guerrilla performance in Moscow’s main cathedral calling for the Virgin Mary to protect Russia against Vladimir Putin, who was elected to a new term as Russia’s president a few days later.
Business Insider has more on the incident, which some question took place like authorities claim:
A man who prepares the church for service said that the band were “dressed improperly” and “hopping around” as they shouted “blasphemous words,” adding that he thinks the band meant to insult believers.
Another worker of the church described a physical struggle that occurred when guards tried to stop the performance, saying the women were “imitating Satanic movements with their hands.”
He testified that parishioners “demanded that the blasphemy be stopped.”
One Orthodox parishioner who worked at the cathedral testified that “their actions deeply affected her religious beliefs and insulted them” and another man said that he “suffered moral damage.”
Witnesses keep saying that the video of the performance posted online contained audio that did not occur at the time and that they did not hear any political slogans during the short performance.
You can watch the performance in question below:
They face a maximum seven years in prison. The sentence is to be handed down later Friday.
The case has attracted international attention as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent. It also underlines the vast influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Although church and state are formally separate, the church identifies itself as the heart of Russian national identity and critics say its strength effectively makes it a quasi-state entity.
Protests timed to just before the verdict or soon afterward were planned in more than three dozen cities worldwide.
Prosecutors have asked for three-year sentences, down from the possible seven-year maximum and Putin himself has said he hopes the sentencing is not “too severe.”
Celebrities including Paul McCartney, Madonna and Bjork have called for them to be freed, and protests are planned around the world Friday.
Before Friday’s proceedings began, defense lawyer Nikolai Polozov said the women “hope for an acquittal but they are ready to continue to fight.”
There was a heavy police presence around the court building in central Moscow, where hundreds of protesters and band supporters were gathering. Many protesters have been gathering around the world to show support for the band. You can see some of them below:
In fact, the infamous, topless protest group FEMEN recently cut down a cross in Russia to show their thoughts on the trial (the stunt has been appropriately blurred out):
Even if the women are sentenced only to time already served, the case has already strongly clouded Russia’s esteem overseas and stoked the resentment of opposition partisans who have turned out in a series of massive rallies since last winter.
The case comes in the wake of several recently passed laws cracking down on opposition, including one that raised the fine for taking part in an unauthorized demonstrations by 150 times to 300,000 rubles (about $9,000).
Another measure requires non-government organizations that both engage in vaguely defined political activity and receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.”
This is a breaking story. Updates will be added.
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Comments (88)
AlBundy
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 1:02pmWell it is evident that free speech doesn‘t exist in Putin’s Russia. Though I disagree with the manner the young women protested, I’m not sure that putting them in prison for two years is justified. I would have made them pay for repairing the cross and put a restraining order of staying away from the church. The moral of the story for us is that we must be on guard of the erosion of our rights and personal freedoms that government would love to take away. Wake-up citizens of the U.S., this could be you one day. Do you think that Jesus would want these girls put in prison for what they did? I think not.
Report Post »LuvsYeshua
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 5:47pmPraying to Mary, the saints or anyone other than Jesus Christ is idolatrous, pagan and completely blasphemous. God lets us know in many different ways when we have sinned against Him. Often that is by facilitating our path to jail. I speak from experience. Stop thinking that Jesus Christ wants a society where anything goes. He does in fact want us to scrutinize our actions and not sin.
Most people, including Christians, misuse what happened in John 8 where Jesus says to the Pharisees who were going to stone an adulterous woman, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” That doesn’t mean that He was telling her that her sin was ok. That is why He told her, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11). He doesn’t condemn her for her sin, but He does instruct her to turn from it.
Report Post »ieia
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 12:56pmConservatives and especially libertarians need to be wise in their discernment between freedom and anarchy. What this trashy group did was not a responsible exercise of free speech. Hopefully they get the seven year sentence.
Report Post »OutOfTheAether
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 1:09pmthe key words: Responsible Exercise of Free Speech
Report Post »Melika
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 5:00pmWell put.
Report Post »pamela63
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 5:24pmI agree. Well put.
Report Post »bloptop
Posted on August 18, 2012 at 3:33pmWhat would be a “responsible” exercise of free speech? And further more, how is speech in any manner a crime? You shouldn’t call yourself a proponent of freedom and liberty but a lackey for the state aka a Fascist. “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all” – Noam Chomsky
Report Post »betterthantv
Posted on August 18, 2012 at 9:37pmSo you believe they deserve to go to PRISON for their SPEECH? You, I’m afraid are no better than Putin!
Report Post »Maxim Crux
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 12:51pmWell, they don’t call the PUNK rockers for nothing.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 12:28pmThese three sluts were punk-rock trash. They interrupted the holiest site in the Russian Orthodox system to make their anti-Putin statement. They enraged Christians by their actions and probably Christians who were not really backers of Putin. Putin was the target of these girls’protests and he did not care for their tone. So….he used the excuse of punishing them for disrupting a church to severely punish them. Smart move on his part. He makes points with believers and gets rid of his enemies in one move. Nobody really cares if they are in jail. In Russia, most people probably applauded it.
Report Post »christhefanatic
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 12:58pmThe above story would suggest that the Church itself was also a target.
Report Post »betterthantv
Posted on August 18, 2012 at 9:39pmYou are completely clueless as to what this story is about. They picked this church because this church is BACKING PUTIN. The church in Russia is not the same as it is here. You really ought to educate yourself before judging.
Report Post »GrayPanther
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 12:07pmRussia has deteriorated into a third world country. The fact their veto in the UN allows much inhumane activity in Syria and elsewhere is enough information to boycott Russia also. At one point the UN could have voted to keep the USSR and Communist China out of the security council. However, there were already too many communists in the UN to do so. We need to drop our “donations” to a level with other countries and give them 5 years to be completely out of the USA.
Report Post »OneTermPresident
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:22amBand..?
And I agree with other posters that have pointed out that it’s not freedom of speech when you try and take over private property to make statement… this so called band was acting like Occupiers trampling on the rights of others..
Report Post »swamp_donkey
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 5:12pmthey did it in the church because the church is supporting putin , why do you people have to be so damn ignorant
Report Post »betterthantv
Posted on August 18, 2012 at 9:41pm@ SWAMP MONKEY. Thank you for being another reasonable voice in this mindless debate. It scares me sometimes how people spout off about things they know nothing about. This church is indeed pro-Putin. It is a STATE RUN CHURCH. Things are not always as they seem people.
Report Post »christhefanatic
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:15amGoes without saying, the government of Russia is evil…always has been, always will be. Having said that…Give them the full seven years…The world will be a better place for seven years…if only on a microscopic level.
Report Post »christhefanatic
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:31amWho told Paul McCartney he could think???
Report Post »Free2speakRN
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:14amProgressives, here is your ‘utopia’.
Report Post »mrdon2012
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:35amThey knew what they were doing. They wanted attention and they got it. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. Choices have consequences. Don‘t do the crime if you don’t want to do the time.
Report Post »dixie63
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:24amI agree. I think they got what they deserved. They are leftist, feminists who desecrated a church with their filthy protest. I don’t understand the people supporting them on the Blaze.
Report Post »It says enough about what they stand for that Madonna is supporting them. In this case, I am with the Russians.
Remember how everyone was outraged when the homosexual activists ran into a church, and started kissing? Well, these girls ran in and started singing obscenities in the holiest part of that church in Russia.
betterthantv
Posted on August 18, 2012 at 9:45pmGood lord people. We are supporting them because this issue is much bigger than what your reading here. This is a huge beginning for what will hopefully be a rebellion against Putin and his cohorts in Russia. We may not like what these girls are saying, but their cause is just. Please educate yourselves before being so damn judgmental! These girls are hero’s. Ignorant hero‘s but hero’s nonetheless.
Report Post »christhefanatic
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:21amThe Morality Police vs the morally bankrupt.
Report Post »christhefanatic
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:40amTotalitarian government vs anarchist trash. The Russian people have had a hard time of it.
Report Post »sndrman
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:50amlittle by little silence your opponent, by the laws you yourself have passed…..sound familiar?
Report Post »JTThrasher
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:43amPlease..if they had done this at a Mosque or a Synagogue everyone would be screaming bloody racism or anti-Semetism. The fact that the Orthodox church has such sway is none of our business..it is part of their national identity and they have the right to decide what makes up that identity. I want to know why the world says it is OK to destroy Christian symbols, interrupt Christian services, but to even criticize Mohammad or the Jews is somehow high treason and hateful. Hypocrites on the left and right. I am glad someone is still retaining their ties to Christianity, instead of letting a minority dictate what is good for the majority.
To the post which stated punk was against the left…uh, no. Feminism (X-Ray Spex, Vice Squad), homosexuality (The Adicts, MDC, The Dicks), fetishism (The Dead Boys and many others), etc were all a part of the scene, plus rampant drug use. While there were individuals with right-leaning ideas (Wattie from The Exploited, Billy Milano from MOD, one of the Ramones) they were a minority in the scene. Many were openly left (Property is Theft by TSOL, the current state of Maximum Rock N Roll) I can give examples all day. H.R. from The Bad Brains was heavily criticized for his anti-homosexual views based on his Rastafarian beliefs. On the west coast there was some anti-left activity when Tipper Gore was doing the PMRC, but it never lasted.
Report Post »Hugh Williams
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:07amA Communist ruler imprisons people that publicly criticize him and you think he is making a stand to protect Christianity.
Report Post »swamp_donkey
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:40amcant decide are you pro putin anti free speach or just hate uppity women?
Report Post »JTThrasher
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 1:46pmHugh- I think you are confused. The band stated that they were against the Church being associated with the state..the Orthodox church is a bit nationalistic, you see..these girls are leftists.
Donkey-I am not Pro-Putin, who himself said he hopes the girls get a light sentence, I am Pro-Free Speech, which is what the ladies interrupted, the free speech of the church, I am also pro-freedom of religion, freedom of association etc, all of which were being attacked here. I am also pro-minding my own damn business when it comes to another nation deciding on the culture, religion and identity it chooses to uphold. I have also not forgotten that after the Cold War and after Reagan a lot of promises to help Russia rebuild were broken, which led them to isolate themselves again. As to “uppity women” it depends on who and what they are fighting for, as well as where and how. I do not consider this fighting for anything.
Report Post »JTThrasher
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 2:21pmAnd it has also been conjectured, though I have no confirmation of this, that the cross the one protester cut down was a memorial to those Christians killed under communism.
Report Post »garbagecanlogic
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:32amCan you imagine how many dummycrats would be in prison if we had this law in the U.S.????
Praise Be To Obama. Psalm 109:8
The U.S. Out Of The U.N.
Report Post »The U.N. Out Of The U.S.
Hugh Williams
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:03amIf Lord Obama has his way laws like this will be here in the US. Do you really think Lord Obama would not love to be able to imprison Rush, Glenn, Hannity, Ann Coulter and every other person that dares to publicly criticize him?
Report Post »deeberj
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:25amSo witnesses say they were being blasphemous but what we hear on TV is purely political. Interesting.
The band went into a church, which is private property, and performed, not at the invite of the church. If someone did this in the USA, they would be arrested because you can‘t just go into someone’s private property and do what you want and call that freedom of speech. I certainly don‘t want people I don’t know come into my home and start “performing”, I would call the police. So the fact that they were arrested means nothing to me.
I think they did this in a church to get arrested so they could then raise a stink. Apparantly they have been performing elsewhere and no one cared, no one was arrested, and no one in American ever heard of this band.
Report Post »myptofvu
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:08amToo bad they couldn’t have plead to the lesser charge of “Shenanigans”
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:28amOr third degree Hijinks.
Report Post »tothepoint
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:03amRemember obama’s little “heard on mic” comment to Putin?
Report Post »Well, America, what happened to this band can be coming to our country soon, if obama is re-elected.
frogg
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:36amIf Obama get re-elected don‘t be surprised if we aren’t handled the same way. Our freedom hangs on this election!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vote the BUMS out this November! Please! Pretty Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out http://www.rescueourconstitution.com/
Report Post »Baikonur
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:34amVery sad verdict, but not surprising. It’s great the world community is aware of them and standing up for them, though.
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 2:09pmComing from you, that’s very capricious. BTW, you don’t drive a Vulva do you?
Report Post »Git-R-Done
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:07pmSo trespassing onto private property is freedom of speech?
Report Post »momrules
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:33amIt took the Russians a whole hot minute to try and convict these girls and our courts can’t even get Nidal Hasan to shave his beard so he can stand trial.
I have only read a little about this case in Russia but 7 years is certainly a long time in prison for what they did.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:41amOne second is too long in jail for what they did. What they did was revert back to the very roots of Punk, which are right wing in origin, and rebel against a hard Leftist by invoking prayers from believers in the divinity of Christ himself.
The Left hated punk when it first appeared on the world stage, which is why they worked to co-opt it as fast as they could. The knew danger when they saw it, and the last thing they want is a font of youth rebellion AGAINST socialism.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:06amPutin is hardly a leftist. You might note that in the photo above, the ***** Riot lady on the right is wearing a t-shirt that says “No pasaran.” An eminently left-wing slogan, from the days of the Spanish Civil War. Perhaps she means it ironically?
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:28amOh come now Lloyd, Putin is the ultimate breed of “pragmatic” Leftist. One does not get to be the head of the KGB in the Soviet Union by not subscribing to the prevailing philosophies. And pragmatism is a big philosophy of the Left.
If you‘re also telling me that using the enemy’s words against them is something new under the sun, I’d be shocked.
Report Post »termyt
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:32amPutin is hardly a leftist? What is a leftist to you? Maybe by Soviet definitions of left and right, but my US definitions, it would be harder to find someone further to the left.
“No pasaran” means “They shall not pass” and is a common term in the punk scene. It’s anti-establishment more than it is adherent to any particular political affiliation.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 10:02amPutin cares about power. He is returning Russia to its traditional autocracy, pure and simple, not collectivizing agriculture or confiscating the property of the wealthy and successful–so long as they do not oppose him. He appeals to national pride, not class resentment. He is an opportunist, not a leftist, unless by “leftist” you mean “statist.”
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 1:44pmNot sure why one would invite a “punk” band into a church in the first place.
Report Post »There name is kind of a give away.
The power should have been turned off and the riot over … say good night and go home
our mistake …
KangarooJack
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:29amAgreed Blanc05! The “Thought Police” will be out in force rounding up any of us who do not agree with the plan to bring the U.S. into the 3rd World fold.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:25amInteresting that the demonstrators in the photo are carrying signs printed in English instead of Cyrillic print. Obviously aimed at US and European press.
Report Post »deeberj
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:31amAmnesty International provided those signs in English.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:33amThe trial was in Moscow, but the demonstration in the photo is in Paris, hence no Cyrillic.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:24amPutin will be an inspiration for Obama when he can be more “ flexible” after the election … and won’t our anarchists be surprised when Big Brother throws them under the bus.
Report Post »contkmi
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:15amI may not be able to stand the music or the method but I have to support the right to free speech.
Putin is a scary man. Much smarter than the clown we have as president.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:26amYes. But Putin and “ the clown” follow the same Rules For Radicals playbook and have the same atheistic “ moral” code….
Report Post »The Jewish Avenger
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:13amI agree in free speech too but to go to a place of worship and distrupt a service is a contradiction of that….
I was hopng to read that some elder thumped them with their umbrella… but… no joy.
Report Post »deeberj
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:28amFree speech isn’t going into a private property and doing what they did. Free speech would be doing it out in a public square somewhere. They should be arrested for doing that in the church.
Report Post »huey6367
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:06amBut its all done in the name of art – right?
Report Post »blanco5
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 8:06amThat headline will soon be in America if prez islama gets elected again!
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 9:24amHow so?
Obama has had an assortment of blaspheming rappers at the White House.
We are told he is waging a “war on religion.”
How would he object to a gang of provocatively dressed, foul-mouthed women “occupying” a house of worship?
Report Post »blanco5
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:00amLloyd—you CANNOT be that naive!
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 11:48amNo, seriously, is Obama not a minion of Satan? So why would he be concerned about people “making Satanic movements with their hands?“ Does he not love it when his followers inflict ”moral damage?”
Report Post »saranda
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 2:38pmLloyd – seek help before you hurt yourself. Or someone else. Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 17, 2012 at 6:59pm@Saranda: I defer to your judgment on matters Russian, since I deduce you must be Russian. It’s a long- standing Russian reflex to accuse people you disagree with of being mentally ill.
Report Post »