Press release

Russia: Appeals court upholds Pussy Riot jail term and fails to protect political dissent

An appeals court in Moscow has upheld the two-year jail terms for two Pussy Riot members who were found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after criticising the close relationship between President Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church through staging a ‘punk prayer’ in a Moscow church.

 “It’s outrageous that an appellate court charged with reviewing the conviction could not see that Pussy Riot were criticising the close relationship between Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, and that religious hatred was no motive . Some people may have felt offended by their ‘punk prayer’ but this does not warrant a criminal prosecution and the prison sentences handed out to the members of Pussy Riot violate free speech,” said Dr Agnes Callamard, ARTICLE 19 executive director.

 “Under Putin’s current presidency, freedom of expression has been further undermined and press freedom is deteriorating. Criticising the authorities  is becoming increasingly difficult and dangerous both in the media and in public assemblies,” she added.

 International law protects any form of expression which can be communicated, including information and ideas which are deemed to be provocative and offensive to some people. The two-year jail terms handed to Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, were unnecessary because the nature of the action did not justify turning to criminal law. The appeals court today freed Samutsevich as her sentence was made conditional, following the arguments of her lawyer that she was prevented from participating in the ‘punk prayer’ at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

 The Moscow City Court also failed to recognise that the Pussy Riot action is a form of political expression and examine it with a higher scrutiny as to how political debate in Russia might be adversely affected if restrictions were applied.

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