Vladimir Putin unwillingly
responded to reporters’ questions about Pussy Riot during his official visit to
England.
. When pressed by persistent reporters, he declared that he did not want really
want to speak about this issue: “There is nothing good in this case. But I do
not think it is necessary to judge them sternly for what they have done. I hope
that they will draw their own conclusions about what they have done.”
In typical Putin fashion, Putin
washed his hands of responsibility. It is up to the courts: “I hope the courts
make the right decision. (This after the Khodorkovsky judge unwillingly
announced the decision telephoned to him from above.). (Stalin also could do nothing to save his victims from the Soviet legal system. It was their decision not his!)
Putin went on to say that Pussy Riot are lucky that they committed such
a heinous crime in a civilized country like Russia: “I think that if the girls
had committed such sacrilege in Israel – many of you know, there they have some
pretty tough guys – they would not have gotten away. If this had happened in
the Caucasus – you do not have to go very far
-- and if they had insulted some Muslim practice, we could not have succeeded
in protecting them.”
When asked whether he discussed
Pussy Riot with Premier David Cameron: “No,
we did not mention it.”
Back home, prominent members of the
Russian Society of Advocates issued an open letter in support of Pussy Riot. They wrote that criminal
proceedings against the women contradicts Russian law and is a step towards the
destruction of a rule of law in Russia.”
As we say: Putin has stepped into
it. He had to parry questions about the imprisonment of a girl punk band on a
state visit to a major country, and he has to face a rare bit of push back from
his own legal profession, which appears to be embarrassed to work in a country
with no laws.
A question for Putin to consider: What would happen if one of the punk rock girls dies in prison?
