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The Pussy Riot Dilemma |
17 August 2012by Betul Durmus, JTW
In February, Russian punk group Pussy Riot had performed the so-called “punk prayer” in the main Cathedral of Russian Orthodox belief, Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Three of the group members performed a song asking Mary to liberate Russia from Putin’s rule, while hanging on the cross. As they stated, this was a protest against the Orthodox Church because of its support for Putin in the elections.
This action was carried to the court with the charge of “hooliganism” and the prosecutors demanded three year imprisonment for each member of the band. The trial divided Russian society and international community into two camps. On the one hand, we have the camp which supports the group and evaluates their performance in the context of free speech therefore opposing the harsh punishment, the other one the front which insists that this action aimed religious beliefs of Russian people and humiliated the sacred religious places, so they deserve to be punished. During the trial, Pussy Riot gained many supporters from all over the world including international human rights organizations, for example Amnesty International named them “prisoners of conscience”.
There are also some claims about Putin’s direct involvement to the case. As Pyotr Verzilov, husband of one group member, stated that the court cannot stay neutral and Putin would decide the amount of punishment. However, political analyst Pavel Salin believes that Putin doesn’t care about the trial and wouldn’t want revenge. He thinks that this action actually offended millions of Russian Orthodox believers who want the government to stop the desecration.
In the atmosphere heated by these debates, the court arrived at a verdict today and found the group members guilty of hooliganism yet the amount of punishment is still unclear. |
17 August 2012
Journal of Turkish Weekly
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