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Thursday 13 September 2012

[wanita-muslimah] Medvedev calls for Pussy Riot to be freed

 

 

Medvedev calls for Pussy Riot to be freed

Date  September 14, 2012
 
Members of the female punk band

Jailed ... female punk band Pussy Riot. Photo: Reuters

MOSCOW: The Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, has broken ranks with the country's establishment to call for the early release of the jailed Pussy Riot trio.

Speaking to members of ruling party United Russia on Wednesday, the former president said the women's actions made him ''sick'' but taking an unemotional look at the case showed that continued imprisonment was ''counterproductive''.

''A prison term is a very strict, I would say terrible, responsibility,'' Mr Medvedev said.

Russian Prime Minsiter Dmitry Medvedev

"The time they've spent in prison ... is long enough to make them think about what happened" ... Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev. Photo: Reuters

''The punishment they have already experienced, the time they've spent in prison, is long enough to make them think about what happened.''

Mr Medvedev went on to say that a suspended sentence would have been sufficient punishment.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich spent five months in pretrial detention before being sentenced to two years' imprisonment for ''hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'' in August.

The charges related to the performance of a politically charged ''punk prayer'' in Moscow's largest cathedral in February, calling on the Virgin Mary to drive the then-prime minister Vladimir Putin out of power.

The group's supporters say they are being punished for insulting Mr Putin and publicly challenging the growing power of the Orthodox Church.

The sentence passed in August was less than the three years requested by the prosecution, and much lighter than the eight-year maximum the crime carries.

Mr Medvedev's comments, however, have raised hopes that the three could be released when a court considers their appeal on October 1.

One lawyer for the group accused Mr Medvedev, who stepped down as president in May, of hypocrisy.

''He had the possibility then as guarantor of the constitution to stop it. But he never even answered [our letters],'' Mark Feiglin said. ''I don't believe him.''

Mr Putin, who is again President, has tried to distance himself from the case, saying he did not want to get involved. But he added that abuses committed against the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet era meant ''the state is obliged to protect the feelings of believers''.

Telegraph, London

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