Time to act for Pussy Riot

2012-04-16 | Kristina Hultman padlock

INTERNATIONAL

On Thursday members of the activist group Pussy Riot will stand trial in Moscow charged with hooliganism. But to protest against power is a civil right and ours to guard as human beings. It is, writes Kristina Hultman, high time to show our solidarity with Pussy Riots and protest to them even being arrested in the first place – rioters or not.

Around parliamentary elections in Russia a group of activist – rriot girls from the Moscow punk scene – made an outstandingly brave (some say stupid) and visual performances outside Kremlin on top of a platform by the red square. The authorities – intimidated and confused by public uprising around elections and how to handle it – did not do much apart from questioning them. Probably because they were taken by surprise.

After Christmas the girls were back again. This time the target was another highly symbolical site – the main cathedral in Moscow, Christ the Savior. The ideological homeland of the Russian orthodox church.

The performance was brief, the band sang to the virgin Mary urging her to chase Vladimir Putin out. It lasted only for a few minutes and took place in front of a (supposedly) provoked bunch of churchgoers.

The members were then taken by police. Please note that the “punk prayer” (lovely name) was not violent in any way, and no one tried to put up a fight with authorities. Two weeks passed. One day after presidential election, on the 4th of march, at least three of them were taken to custody and charged with hooliganism.

And now... two months later they face a trial that may result in looooong prison sentences.

How things are in Russian detention?

This is what one of the imprisoned pussy rioter, Maria Alyokhina, managed to pass on to her attorney from her pre-trial detention cell in ward no. 6 about a month ago:

My only cell-mate Nina and I sleep on metal beds in outdoor clothes. She sleeps in a fur coat, I sleep in a coat. It's so cold in the cell our noses get red and our feet are ice cold, but we are not allowed to get into bed under the covers before the bedtime bell. The holes in the window frames are stuffed in with hygiene pads and bread crumbs, the sky is all orange from the street lamps at night. I've officially stopped my hunger strike so I now drink warm colored water (tea) and eat dry bread three times a day. The metal bed tables are terrifying, it seems it's easy to smash your head against the edges. Nina keeps saying that it won't get any worse. She's 55. She got detained for burglary. A drunken policeman took all her stuff and forced her to sign the report incriminating her, she never got to read what she signed. Now she's a thief in a mask. She's one of Pussy Riot too.

Then the letter goes on telling how her cell-mate was handcuffed and raped in a police station. The only book that's allowed is the Bible.

On Thursday, on the 19th of April, Maria Alyokhina and two of her friends will be facing trial. Since their arrests in February the issue has grown into a highly contested topic in Russia (pro or against) as the orthodox patriarch has invested heavily in them being punished, arguing in the typical inflated way of Patriarchs of all sorts that “there will be no future for us if we begin to desecrate that which is most sacrosanct”. Other orthodox religious groups refer to the Christian tradition of forgiveness and to pray for the girls instead of punishing them.

How the state authorities will act? Impossible to know. All we can say is that it is high time - rioters or not - to show our solidarity with Pussy Riots and protest to them even being arrested in the first place.

To protest against power – church, state, whatever - is not a crime. It is a civil right and ours to guard as human beings. That’s why there is a lot at stake for women here. And it is happening in Moscow now.