The three members of Russian punks-against-Putin band Pussy Riot face seven years’ imprisonment if convicted of the trumped-up charge of hooliganism levelled against them for staging an impromptu protest against President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral, an act which outraged the Russian leader.
‘It’s torture,’ whispers Maria Alyokhina as she glances anxiously towards the guard.
‘We don’t sleep and we are not given any food. But God is with me and I won’t be scared by what a man can do to me.
‘I thought the church loved its children… but it turns out it loves only the children who believe in Putin. I thought the church’s role was to call us to believe in God, not to tell us to believe in one certain president.’
The women’s protest, during which they were dressed in colourful costumes and wore knitted balaclavas, has been labelled as sacrilege. During a one-minute performance they danced around the cathedral’s altar, high-kicking, bowing, blessing themselves and chanting: ‘Mother Mary, drive Putin away.’
A video was posted on YouTube two weeks before the presidential vote in March in which Putin won a third term, despite a wave of massive protests against his rule.
On trial: Three members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova , left, Yekaterina Samutsevich, right and Maria Aliokhina, centre, are on trial for putting on an anti-Putin performance in a Moscow cathedral
