__ __ Per the genteel NYTimes, “Russian Band Given 2-Year Term for Stunt Deriding Putin“: MOSCOW — A Moscow judge handed down stiff prison sentences of two years on Friday afternoon for three young women who staged a protest against Vladimir V. Putin in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior last February and whose jailing …
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But prosecutors and lawyers for religious people who where described as victims of the stunt said the women were motivated by religious hatred. The defendants were accused of committing “moral harm” and even of practicing Satanism …
Emily Nokes at Seattle’s Stranger has a timeline on “Everything You Need to Know About Vladimir Putin’s Least Favorite Feminists“:
… Pussy Riot has no formal membership, tries to operate anonymously, and cites the riot grrrl movement as inspiration. According to a member of the collective: “We developed what they did in the 1990s, although in an absolutely different context and with an exaggerated political stance, which leads to all of our performances being illegal—we’ll never gig in a club or special musical space.”…
July 30: The Pussy Riot trial begins. The prosecutor demands three years in a labor camp for each defendant. The defense reports that the women have not been allowed adequate food, sleep, or medical attention. During appearances in court, they are kept in a glass and wood cage, watched by a “rotating cast of guard dogs… lest the three women try to run away from the glass ‘aquarium’ in which they are locked during the trial,” the New Yorker reports. Court sessions often last more than 10 hours.
August 3: There are reports of journalists being kept out of the courtroom. According to the Russian Legal Information Agency: “During the trial, the defense attorneys have also not had the opportunity to meet with their clients confidentially. The court has dismissed all of the defense’s appeals, and has not allowed witnesses for the defense or members of the press or the public to testify.”
August 6: The prosecution calls “injured parties” as witnesses, such as church security guards, a candle keeper, church cleaners, and a treasurer. According to the New Yorker, witnesses testify to being “profoundly offended” by the “loud, inappropriate” color of Pussy Riot’s dresses, their lack of sleeves, etc., and the candle keeper says, “They basically spat in my face, in my soul, in my Lord’s soul.” Even though the women performed for less than one minute in balaclavas and tights while the church was empty, a witness claims to have identified one of the women “by her calf muscles.” Rolling Stone reports that a real estate agent who also testifies watched the performance online and feels that “Pussy Riot declared war on God, Christianity, and the government.”…
And in another country, Rick Santorum has a peak sexual experience.
The group’s defense website is here.