In February, three women who make up the Russian rock band Pussy Riot were arrested in Russia for the act of “hooliganism” after peacefully protesting against Russian president Vladimir Putin by changing some of their lyrics during their concert.
The three young women –Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich–were sentenced to two years in prison in mid-August. The members of Pussy Riot were arrested when they screamed, “Mother Mary, please drive Putin away.”
If you are an American like I am, you also must think this is absolutely absurd. Here in the great country of America, we are all accustomed to having the rights of the First Amendment.
If you are not very familiar with the Constitution, one of the main rights the First Amendment gives us as Americans is the freedom of speech, press, assembly and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief, according to cornell.edu.
According to voanews.com, the “hooliganism” trial weakens the freedom of speech in Russia and shows how much the Orthodox Church influences Russia. Because of this trial and the sentencing, President Putin, a former KGB agent, is trying to silence freedom of speech in the future and is deviating back to the old Soviet style of government.
Just because a rock band expresses its views through its lyrics, be it against the president and/or religion, doesn’t mean its members should be arrested and sentenced to two years in prison.
Should they have been arrested and sentenced to two years in prison? That’s a big negative, Ghost Rider. I am not the only one who thinks that justice was unjustly served and there are many people out there trying to help free them.
There is a website called voiceproject.org that has set up a Pussy Riot defense fund that anyone can go to and donate to help the cause. The website has also created shirts and can be found on cafepress.com. All of the profits go directly to the defense fund.