'Jail term for Pussy Riot self-defeating': Medvedev urges probation for punk band |
Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has spoken out against the verdict handed to
controversial punk band Pussy Riot, saying he believed the time they spent
behind bars before and during the trial was punishment enough.
“I feel
that extending the prison time [for the band members] in this case is
counterproductive,” Medvedev said at a United Russia Party meeting in the
Russian city of Penza. “In my opinion, probation would have been sufficient
punishment, considering all the time they've already spent behind bars.”
Last month,
a Moscow court sentenced three members of the feminist punk band to two years
each in a medium-security prison on charges of hooliganism motivated by
religious hatred and enmity.
The six
months the three women have already spent in pre-trial custody will count as
time served towards their sentences.
In the
verdict, the judge said that band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria
Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich showed flagrant disregard for church
parishioners and the fundamentals of the Orthodox faith.
The three
women were arrested in February for their performance of a profanity-laden
'punk prayer' titled 'Mother of God, drive Putin away' in the Cathedral of
Christ the Savior, Moscow’s main Orthodox church. Those who witnessed the
prayer said the women had offended their religious sensibilities, though the
women argued that was never their intention.
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