Russia's Pussy Riot face verdict; Putin's tolerance on trial

[UnrepentantLiberal]

By Timothy Heritage
Reuters
Fri Aug 17, 2012

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian judge delivers a verdict on Friday against three members of a feminist punk band for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a church, in a case their supporters say has put President Vladimir Putin's tolerance of dissent on trial.

Prosecutors want a three-year jail sentence for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" for the members of the band Pussy Riot, who stormed the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February wearing bright ski masks, tights and short skirts to hold a "punk prayer" for Russia to get rid of Putin.

Putin's opponents portray the trial as part of a wider crackdown by the former KGB spy to crush their protest movement. Pop stars led by Madonna - who performed in Moscow with "PUSSY RIOT" painted on her back - have campaigned for the women's release. Washington says the case is politically motivated.

"Our imprisonment is a clear and distinct sign that the whole country's freedom is being taken away," Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, said in a letter written in jail and posted on the Internet by defense lawyer Mark Feigin.

More: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE87F1E520120817?irpc=932

[Blecht]

1. Great name

Hope they get out soon.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

2. The judge is going to hand down the verdict at

7:00AM Eastern time. (A half hour from now.)

[Kolesar]

3. Patriarch Kirill took his cues from the American theocrats

The opposition says Putin saw the trial initially as a chance to strengthen his relationship with the influential Russian Orthodox Church - about 70 percent of Russians say they follow the faith - but his plans backfired.

Although believers were united in outrage that the band thrashed out a "punk prayer" deriding Putin in a place they consider sacrosanct, many were upset by the Church hierarchy's lack of forgiveness and calls for "divine retribution".

Many Russians, including some of the Orthodox faithful, are concerned about ties between church and state under Patriarch Kirill, who has praised Putin's rule as a "miracle of God".

[E-Z-B]

4. They've been found guilty

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/17/13332092-russian-court-finds-pussy-riot-rockers-guilty-of-hooliganism?lite