The Obama administration is treading carefully around the Soviet-style verdict against a Russian punk band who spoke out against President Vladimir Putin.
Three women in the band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison for playing an anti-Putin song, urging the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of the former KGB spy, in a Russian Orthodox cathedral to protest cronyism between Putin and church leaders. Chess champion and Kremlin opponent Garry Kasparov was among those arrested outside of the Moscow courtroom where the “hooliganism” sentences were handed down.
“The United States is disappointed by the verdict, including the disproportionate sentences that were granted,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said today. “While we understand the group’s behavior was offensive to some, we have serious concerns about the way that these young women have been treated by the Russian judicial system.”
“The United States is concerned about both the verdict and the disproportionate sentences handed down by a Moscow court in the case against the members of the band Pussy Riot and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. “We urge Russian authorities to review this case and ensure that the right to freedom of expression is upheld.”
The Russian Orthodox Church was among those asking for clemency for the young women. Pussy Riot’s protest song included criticism of the church’s “praise of rotten dictators,” and urges the patriarchs that instead of believing in Putin they’d “better believe in God instead.”
“Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!” the song goes. “Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away, put Putin away, put Putin away.”
“Shame on Putin regime for sentencing female punk band to 2 yrs in jail for speaking out against oppression,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) tweeted.
To mark the sentences of the three members, with several still on the outside, the punk band dropped a new single: “Putin Lights Up the Fires.”
In the meantime, Obama’s DOJ is furiously studying the Soviet’s prosecutorial briefs to mine techniques they can use to refine their own prosecutions.
And I’m only being half sarcastic. Marxist bastards.
These obscene clowns were arrested, not for protesting (which they could have done with impunity, somewhere other than in a church), but for disrupting and desecrating a church service. In effect, they were interfering with Russian citizens’ rights to practice their religion.
That behavior is inexcusable and should not go unpunished.
Well, they also cried “the church is the shit of god” while hoppping up and own in the inner sanctum.
Of corse the sentence is very harsh, but those young ladies are not the nice angels of freedom they are picturd in the media.
There is a long and not so distant history of antichristian violence comitted under the communist regime, when churches where looted and used as stables.The “no pasaeran” t-shirt one of them wore in court, has a history too.I think the women are old enough to know it.
I am not a Putin supporter, but I also do not have much sympathy for communists.
Where have you got that story about Russian Orthodox Church being among those asking for clemency? They only sort of very weakly asked for something like that _after_ the verdict was given. All the other official utterances by the church, including very high-profile staged events, were only about “the need to protect the faith”. They had plenty of chances to speak out, but didn’t.
‘Disproportionate’ – not really. If extreme protesters in the US – say the Westboro creeps – trespassed on and destroyed private property and desecrated a religious sanctuary (the kind the government likes for example a mosque) or some sort of memorial to MLK or whatever, they’d be lucky to escape without some time in jail though I expect it would be somewhat less.
Also, the protest song is presented in the OP as some kind of prayer. Baloney. The group is a weirdo feminist sex-performing-art-protest group and the purpose of their actions was desecration. In American terms it would be as if ACT-UP, that gay AIDS protest movement from the 1980′s suddenly was resurrected, ran into a mosque or church and desecrated it. You wouldn’t say that kind of protester was making a prayer while doing so.
For some reason this group has captured the attention of our governments and media, probably because they are into some weird sex stuff. Sorry, they are not victims, they are bogus western cause celebres.
Next time they should try that in a mosque and see what happens.