Court over Pussy Riot: Third Day

The members of the Pussy Riot group Nadezhda Tolokonnikov, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich are judged for participating in the so-called punk-spring "The Virgin, Putin Drive", which in February 2012 was arranged in masks in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. The defendants face up to 7 years in prison. By the time of the beginning of the trial, they spent almost five months in custody: an arrest was chosen for them.

On the eve of several Internet resources, led a direct text broadcast from the Hamovnican Court hall, abundantly quoting the testimonies of the victims of the victims of the punk group from the actions (video broadcasting of these testimonies was prohibited by the court decision-as well as the photo and video shooting of the meeting). On August 1, witnesses of the prosecution will be heard (the video broadcast is also not allowed) - and in the morning it became known: the court forbade to publish these testimonies in any form, even in a retelling. However, before the meeting, this ban was softened: the journalists were asked not to quote the performance of the witnesses, but only to state them in retelling. The mitigation of the ban was followed after the journalists demanded that they officially announce it and include this decision in the case file.

According to Lenta.ru , spokeswoman Daria Lyha threatened that the guilty media representatives would not be allowed to meetings, and their editors would send warnings about violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, the journalists found out, in Article 264 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, which Lyakh referred to, there is no direct ban on publication in the media of witnesses.

Radio Liberty monitors the third day of Pussy Riot in the Khamovnichesky Court.

13:42 . The start of the meeting, scheduled for 13 hours, is postponed: lawyers of the defendants are in the Moscow City Court, where they are trying to challenge the decision of the district court, which limited Pussy Riot to the participants and their protection the deadline for familiarization with the case until July 9. By 13:30 it became known: the Moscow City Court rejected the cassation complaints.

Before the entrance to the Hamovnik court building, like the day before, people gathered who requiring fair justice for Pussy Riot participants. Some hold posters in their hands. In particular, the leader of the public organization "Rus sitting" Olga Romanova, human rights activists Zoya Svetova and Alexander Podrabinek, one of the organizers of the rallies "For Famous Elections" Sergey Parkhomenko came to the court.

The day before, the representative of United Russia suddenly spoke in support of the defendants. The head of the executive committee of the Vasileostrovsky branch of the party in St. Petersburg Valery Fedotov asked the court to release the girls to freedom : "They made an ethical mistake, but all the conceivable and unimaginable sentences are already surpassed." Party colleagues Clonged to join the letter in support of the girls. However, this call did not meet the support from the same party members Fedotov.

13:47 . Three ambulances appeared near the court of the court, as it turned out, were called at the request of the defendants: all three became bad. Lawyers explain this by the fact that the girls are chronically lacking (court hearings are delayed until late, and at 5 o’clock the defendants are already waking up to be taken to court) and deprived of hot food. However, the doctors, who examined Nadezhda Tolokonnikov, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich, decided that they were able to continue to participate in the trial. Lawyers, meanwhile, remind: according to international human rights standards, deprivation of sleep is equated with torture.

13:59 . The pleasant news for journalists leading reports from the Khamovnik court: in the Moscow City Court they say that media representatives cannot be prohibited from quoting witnesses speaking in the open trial. As explained by the head of the press service of the Moscow City Court, Anna Usacheva, "journalists have every right to cover the open trial. The media work includes direct quoting and indirect speech and analysis of the information received" (an interfax quote). At the same time, Anna Usacheva noted that during the coverage of the open trial, the press "should take into account the orders of the presiding judge in the case, as well as be guided by both current legislation and common sense."

14:50 . The meeting began with the fact that the lawyer of the victims Alexei Taratukhin announced the allocation of the judge (the day before, the lawyers of the defendants promised to demand the challenge of the judges). According to Taratukhin, the judge Syrov violates the rights of the victims, allowing the lawyers of the defendants to comment on their testimony; And in general, the victims at the hearing were turned into statists. In addition, Taratukhin said, on July 31, the lawyer of the defendants Volkov was seen in the judicial room of Syrova.

14:58 . The prosecution of the judge did not support the prosecution. According to the prosecutor, nothing criminal is that the judge confidentially communicated with the representative of one of the parties. The lawyer, according to the prosecutor, came to the judge, then in order to get a certificate of participation in the process.

15:07 . Defenders of the defendants, in turn, also requires the discharge of the judge. Violetta Volkova claims that she saw: the lawyer of the victims Taratukhin confidentially talked with the chairman in the process of Syrova.

15:11 . The judge retired to the deliberation room to make a decision on both of the petitions to be allocated by the judge.

16:01 . The meeting is resuming.

16:06 . The petitions for the allocation of Judge Syrova Judge Syrova are rejected. As well as a petition for the publication of the recording of DVRs, recorded what was happening in the courtroom on July 31 after the end of the meeting and in the deliberative room.

16:09 . The defendant Maria Alekhina shall file a request for the transfer of the meeting in connection with poor well -being (she says that she slept only one hour and ate almost nothing). Earlier, lawyer Polozov told reporters that Maria is a vegetarian, and in prison there is no way to receive the necessary products in the required number. Therefore, Alekhina’s blood sugar dramatically fell, and therefore the help of doctors was required.

16:17 . Despite the statements of the lawyers of the defendants that there is a direct threat to the health of their clients, Judge Syrov continues the process. On August 1, witnesses of the prosecution are obeyed. The interrogation of the first of them began - Oleg Ugric.

16:27 . Ugric hotly condemns the act of Pussy Riot and just as ardently refutes the statements of the connection of the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill personally with the authorities. In the process of interrogation, however, it turns out that there was no witness to Ugric on the day of the "punk-summer" in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, he only saw a video of the punk group on the Internet.

16:33 . In Ugrica, they ask if the stay of women on the syllable and the amvone is allowed. The witness reports to this that the desire of Pussy Riot participants to break there is evidence that it was not without Satanic participation. The goal of the punk group, according to Ugric, was the declaration of the war of the Church and God.

16:41 . The testimonies of this witness cause laughter in the defendants. Judge Syrov makes a remark to them.

16:45 . The question of the lawyer of the defendants about what impression was made on Ugrica Pussy Riot video with the song "The Virgin, Putin of the run" the judge rejects, recalling that only the events that occurred on February 21 (Pussy Riot's Day) in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior are considered in this meeting. In response, Polozov recalls: the witness was not in the temple on this day.

16:51 . According to Ugric, the Pussy Riot action is directed against the authorities.

16:59 . It turns out that at the stage of the preliminary investigation, the investigator proposed to eccentine to participate in the television program dedicated to the Pussy Riot case. Ugric agreed, but did not receive proposals from the channel.

17:07 . Maria Alekhina became ill again. They called an ambulance to her, as well as two other defendants and lawyer Volkova. A break was announced at the hearing.

17:29 . Two ambulances drove up to the court building. Journalists guess: will the meeting were postponed due to the poor well -being of the defendants or, on the contrary, the judge will conduct it until ten in the evening - like on the first day?

18:01 . The RAPSI website with reference to the lawyer of the defendants Polozova reports rumors: allegedly, the court plans to consider all evidence in a couple of days, and on Friday, August 3, the debate will already take place. That is, according to this version, it is very likely that the verdict in the case of Pussy Riot will be issued next week.

18:27 . Judge Syrov announces the resumption of the process. According to her, the doctors concluded that the defendants and Volkov’s lawyer are healthy: pressure, pulse and blood sugar are normal.

The interrogation of witnesses from the prosecution continues.

18:43 . The second witness of the prosecution is interrogated - the treasurer of the Epiphany of the Elokhov Cathedral (as it turned out after the incident in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, earlier, on February 18, Pussy Riot arranged a punk -grain in the Elokhov Church). The witness said that at that moment the service was going on in the cathedral, she applied to the icon, but suddenly he heard the "inconsistent" singing. She turned around - and saw a girl in a cap, wriggling to the music. “This did not last long, thank God,” said the witness. She is happy that no one noticed such a shame. According to her about what had happened, she told the priest and he promised that the temple would sprinkle.

18:59 . Later, the witness saw Pussy Riot clips on TV. When asked by the prosecutor what feelings she experienced when viewing these television programs, the woman says that she was offended and humiliated.

Can women go to the amvon and salt? The witness answers this question something like this: she herself, with the permission of the priest, sometimes went there - but "did not lift her legs."

In general, this witness is both the prosecution and the defense of the defendants are used as a kind of expert on domestic rules. She is questioned not only about whether women can be in one or another place of the church, but also about which clothes it is permissible to come there, whether they are forbidden to turn their backs to the altar. For example, there was a case when a naked girl entered the church early in the morning. She was not detained, they simply brought it out of the church, ”said the witness. In standing with his back to the altar, the witness also does not see any violations of intra -church rules ...

After the interrogation of this witness, the hearing is interrupted. Continuation - August 2, at 10 a.m.