Riot grrrl activists flee from possible sentencing to continue protests
By Dylan Hackett, News Editor
Last month, after three members of Russian punk group, Pussy Riot, received two-year sentences on the conviction of “hooliganism, pre-planned and committed by a group of people on grounds of religious hatred,” two more members have reportedly fled from Russia to recruit more protesters against Vladimir Putin and his government.
The three members, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22 were sentenced after a crackdown on dissent after protests of the March Russian presidential election, where Putin was elected with 63.6 per cent of the popular vote.
“Of course we didn’t expect a not-guilty verdict,” Samutsevich wrote via her lawyer. “To expect justice from a court that ignores all your objections is of course impossible. So we weren’t shocked and, to the dismay of our enemies, didn’t faint when we got the verdict.”
The group has received support from musicians, writers, and free-speech advocates worldwide.
Paul McCartney spoke out against the charges saying, “I would like you to know that I very much hope the Russian authorities would support the principle of free speech for all their citizens and not feel that they have to punish you for your protest. I hope you can stay strong and believe that I and many others like me who believe in free speech will do everything in our power to support you and the idea of artistic freedom.”
The band also released a single last month in protest of their sentencing and Putin called “Putin Lights Up the Fires.”
“More than anything, our trial showed the dependence of the justice system, and its direct authority on Putin’s power, which clearly should not be the case in a government that calls itself democratic,” Samutsevich said. “Our verdict shows just how scared Putin’s regime is of anyone who can undermine its legitimacy.”
