2 August 2012

Russian president Vladimir Putin says Russian punk trio ***** Riot should not face tough sentencing for their protest against him in Moscow's main cathedral.

The female musicians are on trial over hooliganism charges after a video of their anti-Putin song appeared online.

"There is nothing good in what they did [but] I don't think they should be judged too severely," Mr Putin told reporters in London.

The musicians reject the charges in the case, which has divided Russia.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Mariya Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich have been in jail since February, when they were arrested after storming the pulpit of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

Protest performances

The punk trio danced in the Orthodox church while wearing garish colours and masks, chanting "Mother Mary, drive Putin away".

It was one of a number of performances intended as a protest against Mr Putin in the run-up to Russia's presidential elections in March.

The trial, which began on Monday, has caused major debate in Russia.

The song outraged the Russian Orthodox Church, which accused ***** Riot of blasphemy and has asked for severe judgement.

Supporters, on the other hand, say the case reflects the state's growing intolerance of government opponents.

On Wednesday, medics were called to the court when the women said they felt unwell.

The defendants say they are being deprived of sleep and are poorly fed, according to a defence lawyer.

If convicted of hooliganism, they could face up to seven years in prison

Send them to the Gulag.

Court bailiffs have barred Russian opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny from entering the Khamovniki Court in Moscow in order to testify as a witness inthe ***** Riot punk band trial.
Defense lawyers said Navalny's testimony could have helped greatly in the case
President Vladimir Putin spoke out against "judging too harshly" three ***** Riot band members facing hooliganism charges for a February performance at a Moscow cathedral denouncing President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill.
Meanwhile, Moscow'sKhamovnichesky District Court began studying evidence in the case, video recordings of the band's performances at Christ the Savior and two other churches.
"There is nothing good in it. … Nevertheless, I don't think that they should be judged tooharshly," Putin told journalists in London , answering a question about the band's performance.
"I hope that they [the defendants] will make some conclusions themselves, althoughthe final decision must be delivered by the court," Putin said, reported."I hope that the court will make a correct decision that is justified," he added.
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny faces as much as 10 years in jail after being charged with embezzlement, marking an escalation in President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on the biggest unrest of his 12-year rule.
The Investigative Committee increasedthe severity of the charges against Navalny, accusing him of defrauding a state timber company of 16 million rubles ($496,000) in the Kirov region, the agency said on its website today. Navalny, 36, an anti-corruption activist who helped organize mass protests against Putin, previously risked a maximum sentence of five years for causing a 1.3 million-ruble lossto the firm.
Navalny was barred from leaving Russia by investigators, who said that two more people linked to the case will soon be charged. The accusations are “astonishing,” Navalny said on his blog.
Putin, 59, who won another six years at the Kremlin in March, has responded to the largest demonstrations since he came to power in 2000 by tightening controls over the Internet and prosecuting opposition activists and leaders.