Undated Pussy Riot protest in Moscow, from Russian media

Americans associate the word “hooligan” with Victorian novels and BBC television dramas. But in Europe a hooligan is a violent soccer fan, and “hooliganism” is a culture of destruction, vandalism and violent confrontation. There are hooligan clubs dedicated to soccer teams, and units of European police forces that deal with nothing but hooligan episodes. These clubs are providing the base for several anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim groups in Europe, similar to our militias. A criminal charge of “hooliganism” in Europe is not equivalent to a charge of disorderly conduct for a bar fight or throwing things at a Little League umpire. It’s far beyond what members of our Occupy protests have been charged with.

The three members of Pussy Riot who entered the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow in February and sang a short protest prayer against the rule of Vladimir Putin have been found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” and sentenced to two years in prison on top of the six months they have already been imprisoned. There is no such thing as “time served” in the Russian judicial system. The maximum sentence for these charges is seven years.

The arrest and trial of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, has drawn international attention because it is of a piece with Putin’s crackdown on protest and dissent in what is supposed to be a free democracy. Putin reclaimed the presidency after a parliamentary and presidential election clouded by numerous charges of vote fraud, voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, and interference with monitoring of polling sites. Any American Republican who thinks our 2008 elections were rigged, should take a look at the stories from Russia and then admit that no state or precinct ever reported finding rubber band-bound bundles of ballots made out in one hand, or any poll worker waking up to find her apartment door nailed shut from the outside.

This trial has been a classic case of judicial railroading. What we consider basic rights did not exhibit in this courtroom. The defense attorneys were handed a prosecution case file twice the size of an unabridged dictionary after the trial began. Prosecution witnesses were called who had not been in the Cathedral on the day of the protest and were not actual witnesses to the “crime.” The band’s attorneys were permitted virtually no opportunity to mount a proper defense. The “crime” was vaguely defined and relied purely on the testimony of members of the Russian Orthodox Church who were offended by the protest. The band admits, and the video of the performance shows, that the band was protesting the support given to Putin by the church heirarchy, but they were not disrespectful of the church or its theology. This was a purely political protest. It is generally acknowledged inside Russia that the Russian Orthodox Church, which was banned during communist rule, fears that Putin will impose the same restriction on them. Much of what Putin has done in the past 12 years hints at his desire to “restore order” by restoring the one-party rule of the past, even if that party is not communist. The Church is accused of being willing to bend over backwards to support repressions of human rights as long as Putin allows them to continue hold services.

Musicians and activists all over the world have protested this trial. At the Olympics two weeks ago, Putin expressed hope that the court would be lenient with the band members, which caused consternation within the band’s supporters. They feared the Court would be even harder on the band just to prove it is independent of the President. Perhaps that was Putin’s intention all along.

In Berlin, last week, 400 people joined electro-singer Peaches in stating a protest on behalf of the band. In Reykjavik, Iceland, Mayor Jon Gnarr attended the Gay Pride parade dressed as a member of Pussy Riot, in a bright pink dress and balaclava (ski mask) lip syching a Pussy Riot song. There were demonstration of support in over two dozens cities before the verdict was announced.

It is not known if President Putin will respond to the internal and external protests and pardon the band or commute their sentences. Though Putin as occasionally seemed aware and concerned about the public dissatisfaction with his rule, he has nonetheless gone ahead with actions unpopular or suspicious to Russians, such as his blind support of the al Assad regime in Syria and his demand that Ukraine hand over to Russia control of their natural gas industry in exchange for better rates for Russian gas imports.

The remaining four members of Pussy Riot plan to continue protesting the Putin regime and the creeping limitation of civil rights in Russia.

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