Source: HRO.org (info), 22/06/12

· Freedom of expression  · Artistic freedom  · Persecution of activists  · Public protests

Film director Olga Darfi took to the red carpet at the Moscow Film Festival in a Pussy Riot mask, Grani.ru reports, citing Echo of Moscow. Before setting foot on the carpet she produced from a bag a sack in which eyeholes had been cut, put it on over her head, and made for the entrance. Journalists rushed towards her, but security kept them away. Darfi herself said that she did this to show her support for the young women. The day before a court had extended the women’s term in pre-trial detention by yet another month.

On 20 June Judge Natalya Kovaleva, sitting in Moscow’s Tagansky district court, at the prosecutor’s request extended the pre-trial detention of three members of Pussy Riot – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich – until 24 July. On 11 May Moscow City Court had ruled that the preceding extension of pre-trial detention for the members of Pussy Riot had been lawful. Taking into account this latest extension, by 24 July the three women will have been held in custody for a total of four months and twenty days.

According to the police, 23 supporters of Pusshy Riot were arrested outside the Tagansky district court.

On 4 June the lawyer Mark Feigin said the investigators had concluded their work on the case against Tolokonnikova, Alkekhina and Samutsevich. He expressed the view that the prosecution was hurrying to complete the investigation so that the trial could be held in the summer when there would be fewer public protests. Lawyer Nikolai Polozov said he had received the results of two further independent assessments in connection with the case. “The results of the second assessment confirm those of the first, which showed that the young women were not motivated by a wish to incite hatred or religious enmity. The most there could be said to have been was an intention to insult the feelings of believers. The third assessment showed a result opposite to those of the first two: this found evidence of both incitement of hatred and much else,” the lawyer said.

The members of Pussy Riot were detained in the case of the punk prayer at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. They have been charged with hooliganism committed by an organized group based on a preceding conspiracy and motivated by religious hatred (Article 213, Section 2, of the Criminal Code). They may face up to seven years in prison. Alekhina, Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich have been held in custody since 3 March this year. On 19 April a court extended the pre-trial detention of the three Pussy Riot members until 24 June.