Post date: Aug 18, 2012 3:6:18 PM
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (AUGUST 17, 2012) (REUTERS) - Human Rights Watch's (HRW) deputy director Tanya Lokshina told Reuters on Saturday (August 18) that the Pussy Riot case exposed Russia's political system under President Vladimir Putin, and the women could face consequences in prison as a result.
Human rights activist says Pussy Riot 'trial of the century' exposed Russia's problems and could complicate the punk protest group members' treatment in prison.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were convicted on Friday (August 17) on charges of hooliganism and inciting religious hatred for storming the altar of Christ the Saviour Cathedral in their trademark brightly-coloured dresses, balaclavas and tights, and performing a "punk prayer" calling on the Virgin Mary to send Russian leader Vladimir Putin away. They received two-year sentences for the charges.
Lokshina said despite the harsh sentence, the international attention to the case was a victory for the defendants.
"The three women from Pussy Riot have been in pre-trial custody for almost half a year before the actual conclusion of the proceedings, but nevertheless, they feel like they won. And that's what they looked like yesterday in that courtroom. Also they sort of looked like students, I would say, them being so young and rather fragile, vulnerable students being faced with this very powerful, crushing state machinery," Lokshina said.
"It took the Pussy Riot case for many people to understand what (President Vladimir) Putin's Russia was all about, so at this point in time, the trial itself almost stands out as a sort of a 'trial of the century'," Lokshina added.
Opposition leaders say Putin will not ease up on opponents in his new term. Parliament has already rushed through laws increasing fines for protesters, tightening controls on the Internet, and imposing stricter rules on defamation.
In a statement on Friday, HRW called the verdict and sentence "inappropriate and disproportionate" and a blow to freedom.
"The three women from the Pussy Riot band were tried for hooliganism as a criminal offence, and that offence is just not applicable as far as the nature of their deed, as the nature of their stunt is concerned," Lokshina said.
Lokshina said she would not rule out the three women being mistreated in prison.
"A lot depends on what sort of secret instructions are possibly given to the leadership of the particular penitentiary in which they are going to serve. And so possibly, they're going to be treated ina biased, especially harsh manner. I would not exclude it, simply because their case did so much reputational damage to the Kremlin. Also, on another note, those three young women can be described as 'feisty', and that does not help if you are in a penal colony," she said.
Lokshina said the case galvanised the Russian opposition and international critics, and she urged them to continue to keep the case in their sights.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was concerned about the "disproportionate sentences ... and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia", and urged Russian authorities "to review this case".
Members of the group and their attorneys said their protest was against Putin's close ties to the church, not meant to offend believers. Putin, who returned to the presidency for a third term on May 7 after a four-year spell as prime minister, had said the women did "nothing good" but should not be judged too harshly.