Foreign Minister Defends Pussy Riot Ruling

While human rights organisations and a large section of public opinion have criticised the imprisonment of three members of female punk band Pussy Riot, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has defended the decision.

While in Helsinki for talks with his Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja Aug. 20, he said the women broke rules similar to those enforced in other countries.

“The answer to questions about the issue is unambiguous: The judiciary acts independently. Opinions differ, but the actions of a court cannot be interfered with,” he said.

On Aug. 17, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Marina Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich were sentenced to two years in jail after being found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

In February they’d set up stage near the alter at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral and offered up some raucous punk prayers for deliverance from Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

State prosecutors wanted the women to be jailed for three years, but Judge Marina Syrova was a little more lenient.

The results of an independent poll published by research group Levada Aug. 17 showed only 6 percent of Russians had sympathy for the women, 51 percent said they found nothing good about them or felt irritation or hostility, and the rest were unable to say or were indifferent.