After storming a Moscow cathedral and performing an anti-Putin song last March, three female members of punk band Pussy Riot have been held in a Russian prison awaiting the trial which finally began earlier this week.
The three women have revealed that their time in prison has deprived them of food and sleep, and have even asked to submit a formal request pleading that the trial be put on hold until they can recover from their ordeal.
“We are in a semi-conscious state. We are practically not getting any sleep. Today we did not sleep at all,” band member Nadeshda Tolokonnikova said.
“We can sit here but we cannot fully participate,” Tolokonnikova complained as the judge promised to call in medics for a second time in the day to examine the women.
Earlier that same day, medical attention had been brought in after band member Maria Alyokhina collapsed. Defence lawyer Nikolai Polozov claimed that this was due to a reaction which stemmed from her vegan diet.
“Maria Alyokhina suffered a severe drop in blood sugar levels this morning. This is linked to the fact that she is a vegan,” Polozov said.
Court officials stated that the women had been examined and were found to be fit to stand trial, despite the women’s insistence that they felt unwell.
Although still in its early stages, the trial so far has resulted in the women admitting that their performance was a protest directed against Russian president Vladimir Putin. They also admitted that they could have made an “ethical mistake” in offending worshippers at the Moscow cathedral where they staged their protest performance.
The prosecution has argued that their performance was aimed at insulting Orthodox Christians, and that the attack was staged with intended hatred.
The trial was unexpectedly interrupted on its fourth day, after staff ordered the evacuation of the court on receiving a bomb threat. After police searched the premises and declared the courtroom safe, the trial resumed.
By Friday evening, the presiding judge had barred 14 of the 17 defence witnesses from testifying in court.
Matilda Ivashchenko, one of the witnesses who had studied at the same university as Maria Alyokhinawent, went missing shortly before taking the stand. She was found later, but refused to testify due to death threats from the defendants’ supporters and the LGBT movement.
“Threats are made constantly,” she told the Russian Legal Information Agency. “And even yesterday when I left the court, these supporters started coming over to me, insulting me, and threatening me. Eventually, they threatened to kill me. I was lucky to have a police officer near me.”
The prosecution had earlier sought to keep all the defence witnesses from attending the hearings – a move they justified by claiming their irrelevance to the case.
The list of the original defence witnesses included the prominent protest leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and the award-winning novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya.
The chaos surrounding the trial continued with three demonstrators detained for a colourful show of support for the feminist punk band appearing at the Moscow courthouse opposite. The masked protesters had climbed the balcony of a building facing the court and fired flares. They were later removed by a crane.
Interestingly enough, Putin himself recently spoke out about the case stating that he hopes the women do not receive harsh sentences.
“There is nothing good in what they did [but] I don’t think they should be judged too severely,” he said.
If found guilty of “hooliganism”, the band members could face up to seven years imprisonment. They are certainly not without their supporters though, as international stars such as Sting, British icon Stephen Fry and US actor Danny DeVito have all urged the authorities to release the band.
For many, this trial’s outcome will provide them with a definitive answer as to Russia’s future, either as an oppressive country which silences its accusers, or as one where free speech is valued above all else.
