Vladimir Putin is right to be frightened by Pussy Riot. They are essentially a concept and you can’t stop a concept
– m.guardian.co.uk
Punk-moleben “Madonna, Putin’s persecution of” Pussy Riot v Temple
FULL POST on the punk prayer service, “Mother, Putin Put,” which the soloist Pussy Riot served in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February 21st, Tuesday Pancake week (via Google translate)
Described as punk inheritors of the Riot Grrrl mantle, they are so much more. They are now on trial in Moscow for a crime that took 51 seconds to commit. They mimed an anti-Putin song in the main Orthodox cathedral wearing their trademark balaclavas and clashing colours. For this “hooliganism ” and “religious hatred”, the three women have already served five months in jail. They now face a possible seven-year sentence, in a country where fewer than 1% of cases that go to trial end in a not guilty verdict.
– m.guardian.co.uk
*NEW 2012-AUG-09*
Amnesty International considers these women to be prisoners of conscience, and we are not going to give up on them. Sadly, members of Pussy Riot aren’t the only ones getting caught up in the backlash against dissidents in Russia lately. One of Putin’s fiercest critics, blogger Alexei Navalny, was charged last week with embezzlement, a crime that could carry up to a 10-year prison sentence.
The crackdown doesn’t stop there. In recent weeks, President Putin and his cronies have moved swiftly to limit street protests by enforcing hefty fines and re-criminalizing some forms of defamation.
– Time is Running Out for Pussy Riot (2012-Aug-09) [Amnesty]
