Secular Café: Anti-Putin Band Goes to Trial - Could face up to seven years in prison.

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Anti-Putin Band Goes to Trial - Could face up to seven years in prison. Jul 31st 2012, 01:09 Quote: MOSCOW—Three members of a feminist punk band pleaded not guilty in a trial that has become a nationally watched landmark in the struggle between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and an emboldened protest movement against him. The drawn-out detention of the three women and the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in the case has made for the most politically charged trial since demonstrations calling for an end to Mr. Putin's domination of Russian politics began to gain momentum in December. The three pleaded not guilty on Monday to the criminal charge of hooliganism motivated by religious hostility for staging an anti-Putin "prayer" in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Each defendant could face up to seven years in prison in the case. They were arrested after they and other members of the band known as Pussy Riot climbed onto the ambo, a platform usually reserved for priests, and sang "Our Lady, chase Putin out!" The defendants, speaking from a courtroom cage, used the first day of trial testimony to define their stunt as a purely political protest against the Russian Orthodox patriarch's support for rule by Mr. Putin. The patriarch, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has called their act blasphemous. cont. Quote: a prosecutor called the stunt "a deliberate and carefully planned action to abase the feelings and beliefs of the followers of the Christian world and denigrate the spiritual foundations of the state." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...566573064.html Quote: Free Pussy Riot! Three young women are being detained by Russian authorities for allegedly performing a protest song in a cathedral as part of a feminist punk group "Pussy Riot". Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich were arrested in March 2012 and charged with "hooliganism". If found guilty, they could be jailed for up to 7 years. The three women deny any involvement in the protest although even if they took part, the severity of the response of the Russian authorities would not be a justifiable response to the peaceful - if, to many, offensive - expression of their political beliefs. Tell the Russian authorities to drop all charges and release them! Amnesty petition here: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/sit...049&aid=517749

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