Court rules out Putin's testimony at Pussy Riot trial
Source: Agencies |
July 24, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A COURT yesterday rejected a request to call President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to testify in the trial of three female punk rockers who derided Putin in a protest in the country's main cathedral.
Three members of the band Pussy Riot, all in their 20s, have been held in jail on hooliganism charges since storming the altar of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in February to stage a "punk prayer" to the Virgin Mary to "Throw Putin Out!"
At a preliminary hearing yesterday, the court ruled that the trial will start in a week, on July 30, and will be broadcast on the court's website.
Rights groups and defense lawyers for Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who face up to seven years in prison if convicted, say the case against them is "politically motivated."
Their performance offended many believers and drew the ire of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who said the church was "under attack by persecutors."
Defense lawyer Mark Feigin said the court had rejected a list of 34 people he wanted to call as witnesses, including Putin and Kirill. The court gave no reason but said the defense would be able to make further applications to call witnesses during the trial in Moscow.
Three members of the band Pussy Riot, all in their 20s, have been held in jail on hooliganism charges since storming the altar of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in February to stage a "punk prayer" to the Virgin Mary to "Throw Putin Out!"
At a preliminary hearing yesterday, the court ruled that the trial will start in a week, on July 30, and will be broadcast on the court's website.
Rights groups and defense lawyers for Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, who face up to seven years in prison if convicted, say the case against them is "politically motivated."
Their performance offended many believers and drew the ire of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who said the church was "under attack by persecutors."
Defense lawyer Mark Feigin said the court had rejected a list of 34 people he wanted to call as witnesses, including Putin and Kirill. The court gave no reason but said the defense would be able to make further applications to call witnesses during the trial in Moscow.
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