/ world today news/ On August 17, the Khamovniki Court of Moscow handed down an indictment for the members of the scandalous group Pussy Riot, who organized the so-called punk prayer in the “Christ the Savior” church.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich were found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious enmity and hatred and will spend 2 years in prison, calculated from the moment of their arrest in March this year.
The court took into account mitigating circumstances – including the presence of minor children in two of the convicts, as well as the fact that the victims of the hooligans’ actions did not demand a severe punishment. As a result, they each received 2 years in prison under the “hooliganism” paragraph, which provides for a maximum penalty of up to 7 years in prison. According to the court, the members of Pussy Riot entered into a criminal conspiracy with the aim of gross violation of public order and demonstration of clear disrespect for society. Judge Marina Sirova said that the girls committed provocative and offensive acts in a religious building, attracting a wide range of believers. The content of the song performed by the group’s participants is blasphemy from the point of view of the Orthodox Church, Sirova said:
– Cult facilities that enjoy public attention, including the “Christ the Savior” temple, in which services and other religious rites are performed, are a public place. The illegal actions of the defendants were open and public in nature, attracting the media. In this way, the court comes to the conclusion that the defendants, who organized a public action there, committed actions aimed at a gross violation of public order on the grounds of religious hatred and enmity.
The judge pointed out that the girls demonstratively ignored the norms of generally accepted behavior in the temple, offended the religious feelings of its visitors and all believers. The court rejected the arguments of Tolokonnikova, Samutsevich and Alyokhina that their action was directed exclusively against “the fusion of the church and the government”.
The text of the verdict said that the group members were aware of the offensive nature of their actions. After all, the convicts themselves have said more than once that their act was only a “political statement in an artistic form”. But the court decided that the singers of Pussy Riot committed a crime and their prosecution is impossible without isolation from society. The verdict can be appealed within 10 days.
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