A Moscow court has pronolonged the detention of three members of punk feminist group Pussy Riotdetention until the end of June.
The three alleged Pussy Riot Members are being prosecuted after performing a protest song “Mother of God, send Putin away” inside Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich were arrested soon after the performance, in the run-up to Russian presidential elections, on charges of hooliganism. All of them deny the allegations and membership of Pussy Riot, who keep their identity hidden by wearing signature brightly coloured balaclavas.
The arrest caused a major public discussion about the Orthodox church relationship with the government and societyin Russia.
Political and human rights activists have staged a number of solitary pickets supporting Pussy Rio in the wake of the arrest. A significant theme in the protests is the fact that Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are mothers to small children. Radical nationalist groups have tried to break up protests, including yesterday’s, when Pussy Riot supporters, including Moscow’s leading poets and musicians, gathered near the court building to hold a “Court Festival”.
The activists read poems and give lectures in support of Pussy Riot. Thirty people were arrested by the police: both supporters and opponents of Pussy Riot.
The prosecution of is widely seen as politically motivated, as Vladimir Putin might have been offended by their song. Amnesty International has named the women “prisoners of consciense”.
The capital of Russian opposition moved from Moscow to the southern city of Astrakhan last week. More than 5,000 people came out in support of ex-mayoral candidate Oleg Shein, who has been on hunger strike for over a month in protest against mayoral election results. The protest rally was the largest since those held in Moscow in time leading up to and following the presidential election.
While no protests were held in Ashtrakhan against Vladimir Putin’s controversial win, Oleg Shein’s loss has triggered a political crisis. The mayoral elections took place at the same time as the presidential election, 4 March. Shein’s supporters claim that he was the victim of a fraudulent election, and some have even joined him on hunger strike. Shein has garnered support from opposition leaders in Moscow and other Russian cities, who spent last week rallying support for the former candidate, and joined him at the 14 April rally.
Even though Astrakhan police blocked the city centre and pro-Kremlin youth gathered to provoke the crowd, Shein’s supporters still rallied together peacefully. The group of 5,000 marched while chanting “Shein is our mayor”, “one for all and all for one”, “freedom to political prisoners”, and “we are the power”. Three activists were arrested for attempting to pitch tents in front of municipal buildings, but were released after a couple of hours.
“Astrakhan hasn’t seen such mass protests since mid 1990s,” Oleg Shein told journalists, adding that “mass protests against elections have broken the boundaries of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg.” According to Shein, people in Astrakhan have quickly lost their fear, and now believe that they can influence the government. Tens of people gathered to protest publicly in support of Shein a week before the rally. Russian opposition leaders Dmitry Gudkov, Ilya Ponamarev, Alexey Navalny and celebrities such as TV host Ksenia Sobchak and actor Maxim Vitorgan helped encourage citizens to be brave enough to support Shein.
The protesters have vowed to remain in Astrakhan’s streets every Saturday until new mayoral elections are held. Russian Central Election Committee head Vladimir Churov has already agreed to watch video footage from polling stations, where fraud allegedly took place. Today Oleg Shein will reveal whether or not Churov has confirmed his allegations. Yesterday, Shein filed a suit against the election results, but remains on hunger strike because he does not believe that the Russian judicial system is impartial.
Two activists climbed to the roof of the Bahrain embassy in London yesterday. Prominent opposition activist Ali Mushaima was joined by Moosa Abdali to protest human rights violations in Bahrain, ahead of this weekend’s controversial Grand Prix. The pair scaled scaffolding on a neighbouring building in Belgrave Square. Mushaima claimed he was protesting in solidarity with two of the country’s political prisoners, his father Shi’a politician Hassan Mushaima, and prominent activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. The activist criticised the decision to allow the Grand Prix to go ahead at the weekend, saying by doing so, Formula 1 supports “dictatorship, torture and repression.”
