A young woman has staged a mock crucifixion outside a St
Petersburg church in support of Russian feminist punk group Pussy
Riot, three of whom have been in custody for more than four months
over their anti-Putin protest (watch the original protest
here).
She was on the cross for around 40 minutes - dressed in similar
clothes to those worn by the group during the stunt - before being
detained by the police. On the cross were the words: "Your
democracy could be here".
Three members of Pussy Riot were arrested in March, following
their performance of 'Virgin Mary Put Putin Away' in the Christ the
Saviour Cathedral in Moscow ahead of the elections. The song
included the line "Gay Pride sent to Siberia in chains", a
reference to the country's persecuted LGBT citizens. The women are
being held on charges of criminal hooliganism, and face up to seven
years in jail if found guilty.
Last week, the three women, who have been awaiting trial since
March, declared that they were going on hunger strike after a
Moscow court told them that they had to prepare their defence by
July 9. On Monday, their appeal to be released from custody was
rejected. The case will be considered by the European Court of
Human Rights.
The trio have received a great deal of support. Over 35,000
people have signed an online petition calling for the release of
Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova.
Amnesty International has said that the women are "prisoners of
conscience". An open letter has been signed by over 100 prominent
Russian figures, which said: "We see no legal basis or practical
reason for the further isolation of these young women, who do not
pose any real danger to society".
However, according to a recent poll, Russians appear to be
divided about the case, with around half believing that a prison
sentence would be a fair punishment. Others have also criticised
the Russian Orthodox Church for not intervening.
It was announced today that the preliminary hearings for the
case will be held on 20 July, when it is expected that a date for
the start of the trial will be set.
Image from http://www.baltinfo.ru
