The Moscow prosecutor has demanded three years for the three members
of the Pussy Riot feminist punk rock band. They have been in prison
since March after performing a protest song in Christ the Savior
Cathedral, appealing to the Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out.”
The prosecutor argues that only prison can “correct” the unpardonable crime of religious hatred of the accused.
The prosecutor charged that the girls “defamed centuries-old Russian
orthodox traditions…They deeply insulted and demeaned the feelings of
believers. The words that they shrieked out reviled God.” The
prosecutor asked the court to weigh “the degree of social danger of the
crime” (Note: the exact same language was used during Stalin’s terror).
He cited as an aggravating factor that the “action of the girls was
planned beforehand, they assigned each other roles, and they rehearsed.”
The prosecutor ruled out any political motives of the girls, stating
that “not one name of a politician was pronounced in the cathedral.”
(How about Putin?) The analysis of their song revealed “the clear
artificiality of the expression included in the text: ‘Holy Virgin:
Drive out Putin,’” which they added only to support the case that their
action “was a protest against people of high authority.”
The court refused to hear the testimony of fourteen witnesses
prepared to testify that the girls were making a political protest. The
prosecutor asked the court to ignore any testimony that their actions
were not motivated by “religious hatred.” The court experts were
“sufficiently qualified. There is no reason to doubt them.”
go to forbes.com
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