via Pussy Riot - Google News on 8/19/12
 NBCNews.com (blog) |
Pussy Riot trial gives Russia 'the image of a medieval dictatorship'
The Guardian The case against Pussy Riot was widely seen as serving as a warning to other protesters, as well as a means of appealing to Putin's deeply conservative base. A poll released on Friday by the Levada Centre, an independent pollster, found that 44% of ... Russian clerics forgive Pussy Riot for Putin rantSan Jose Mercury News What Pussy Riot teaches usCNN (blog) Russian top clerics forgive Pussy Riot, ask for mercyNBCNews.com (blog) Washington Post -Huffington Post (blog) all 5,961 news articles » |
http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2012/08/17/reaction-to-the-pussy-riot-verdict/
Reaction to the Pussy Riot Verdict
A collection of reaction to the verdict for Russian punk band Pussy Riot, whose members were found guilty and sentenced to two years in jail for an anti-Putin performance at Russia’s main Orthodox cathedral. We’ll be updating with the latest reaction.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement that she was “deeply disappointed” with the verdict. “This sentence is disproportionate. … [I]t puts a serious question mark over Russia’s respect for international obligations of fair, transparent, and independent legal process,” she said. “I expect that this sentence will be reviewed and reversed in line with Russia’s international commitments.”
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The U.S. embassy in Russia said on its Twitter feed that the verdict “looks disproportionate.”
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the sentence was “excessively harsh” and “not compatible with the European values of the rule of law and democracy to which Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, has committed itself.”
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“The verdict handed down today appears particularly disproportionate, considering the minor acts they are accused of,” said Vincent Floreani, France’s foreign ministry spokesman. “The process is not over, since appeals in Russia and in Strasbourg (to the European Court of Human Rights) have not been exhausted.”
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The court’s interpretation of the law in Pussy Riot’s case may create a dangerous precedent, the head of the presidential human rights council, Mikhail Fedotov, told Interfax. He said he condemns the women’s actions, but noted that he is prepared to support their appeal, should there be one. “What they have done has some blatant amorality in it and petty hooliganism but there is no criminal offense in it,” he said.
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Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says on Twitter: “Even the Human Rights Commissioner of Russia deems the prison sentence for Pussy Riot unfair and calls for it to be appealed. Easy to agree.”
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Vladimir Zhiyanov, the father of band member Maria Alyokhina said, “What they did is not right, but what the court did is much, much worse. It’s complete lawlessness. It’s time to kick Putin out of the G8. The world’s reaction may force Putin to pardon him, to let them out.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement that she was “deeply disappointed” with the verdict. “This sentence is disproportionate. … [I]t puts a serious question mark over Russia’s respect for international obligations of fair, transparent, and independent legal process,” she said. “I expect that this sentence will be reviewed and reversed in line with Russia’s international commitments.”
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The U.S. embassy in Russia said on its Twitter feed that the verdict “looks disproportionate.”
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the sentence was “excessively harsh” and “not compatible with the European values of the rule of law and democracy to which Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, has committed itself.”
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“The verdict handed down today appears particularly disproportionate, considering the minor acts they are accused of,” said Vincent Floreani, France’s foreign ministry spokesman. “The process is not over, since appeals in Russia and in Strasbourg (to the European Court of Human Rights) have not been exhausted.”
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The court’s interpretation of the law in Pussy Riot’s case may create a dangerous precedent, the head of the presidential human rights council, Mikhail Fedotov, told Interfax. He said he condemns the women’s actions, but noted that he is prepared to support their appeal, should there be one. “What they have done has some blatant amorality in it and petty hooliganism but there is no criminal offense in it,” he said.
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Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says on Twitter: “Even the Human Rights Commissioner of Russia deems the prison sentence for Pussy Riot unfair and calls for it to be appealed. Easy to agree.”
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Vladimir Zhiyanov, the father of band member Maria Alyokhina said, “What they did is not right, but what the court did is much, much worse. It’s complete lawlessness. It’s time to kick Putin out of the G8. The world’s reaction may force Putin to pardon him, to let them out.”
