12 Mar 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
A doctor accused of carrying out forced “virginity tests” on female Egyptian protesters has been acquitted by a military court. Ahmed Adel was cleared after the judge found contradictions in witness statements. The case was brought by Samira Ibrahim, who said the “tests” were carried out on female protesters who were detained during a protest in Tahrir Square in March 2011. Ibrahim wrote on Twitter that the verdict had stained the honour of Egypt and she would carry on until she had “restored Egypt’s rights”.
12 Mar 2012 | Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia, News and features
With the Eurovision Song Contest looming, Azerbaijanis are becoming more vocal in their demands for change, says Turgut Gambar
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7 Mar 2012 | Russia
Members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot have been arrested in Moscow on the eve of the country’s presidential elections on charges of hooliganism. The Moscow court in charge decided to keep them imprisoned until 24 April, when they will be tried facing a sentence of up to 7 years. Two band members, both mothers, have announced a hunger strike until they are reunited with their children.
Pussy Riot is one of the most unusual of all the opposition groups that have arisen in Moscow over the past few months. They perform political songs dressed in colourful mini-skirts and balaclavas. Their faces are covered so anyone can potentially join in. They were arrested after performing an anti-Putin punk prayer in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral.
The trial was supposed to take place on 5 March, the same day when mass demonstrations were scheduled to happen in Moscow. Journalists gathered at the Taganka court at 3pm, but were kept waiting for many hours in vain. “The strategy seems to be to wait for all of us to go to the protests, and hold the trial without a consistent presence of the press,” one said.
Waiting for the trial to start, the band members’ lawyer Nikolai Polozov told Index: “I do not understand why the trial is being postponed for such a long time. I got notice it was delayed by one, then two and then three hours, but now the inquirer does not even pick up my phone calls. If supporting documents are not brought in within 48 hours of the arrests, which is within a couple of hours, they will be forced to release them. But they could always determine the moment of the arrest to a later hour or find another legal caveat to keep them in”.
The supporting documents were eventually brought in. Two more band members were arrested in the evening hours of the same day.
Many Russians are showing support for the group through social media and real life actions. On 8 March, International Women’s Day, a number of flash mobs in support of the group are planned to take place all over Moscow. Recently re-elected president Vladimir Putin has stated he disapproves of the womens’ actions in the cathedral.
5 Mar 2012 | Russia
Vladimir Putin has regained his position as president of Russia after Sunday’s election. According to the Central Election Committee, Putin got 63.82 per cent votes confirming him as winner without the need for a second round of voting. The second highest result was achieved by communist leader Gennady Zyuganov with 17.8 per cent of the votes. The other candidates, oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov, LDPR party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky and former Duma speaker Sergey Mironov, all had less than 8 per cent of votes.
Zuganov described the election results as “illegitimate and unfair”, while Mironov, Zhirinovsky and Prokhorov accepted their defeat and recognised Putin’s victory.
Vladimir Putin made a speech in front of his supporters in Moscow’s Manezh Square saying his victory was “clean” and the elections were “a test” that showed “Russian people didn’t let anyone impose their will” to destabilise the country. This statement is in line with Putin’s previous allegations against the opposition. President Dmitry Medvedev said they “won’t give this victory away to anyone”.
Opposition and journalists reported numerous fraud allegations, along with the suggestion that Putin’s supporters were paid to appear at central squares on 4 March for money and were bussed in.
Watchdogs from the League of Voters reported over 3,000 election law violations. The same number was reported by GOLOS association, another independent monitor.
Most violations include ballot-box stuffing and “carousels’ — when a group of the same people vote several times at different poll stations. Carousels often included police officers, plant workers and the military.
Mikhail Gorbachev has said he doubts that “election results reflect real public mood”.
Russian citizens held mass protests against Putin’s third presidential campaign run, and plan to continue protesting. Putin became president in 2000, 2004 and in 2008 he supported Dmitry Medvedev, who made Putin prime minister.
A sanctioned rally against Putin and for fair elections will be held on 5 March on Pushkinskaya Square in the centre of Moscow.
