Pussy Riot denounces "the hypocrisy of World Cup celebrations in Russia" as political activists languish in jail

One of the most prominent members of the activist group Pussy Riot congratulated his badociates who stormed the field in the World Cup final and declared that he was "hypocritical" for the country to indulge in extravagant celebrations. .

Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Maria Alyokhina stated that she was "proud" of her cohorts, four of whom were imprisoned for 15 days for disrupting the second half of the match between the France and Croatia after having run on the ground of Luzhniki stadium of 81 000 places wearing police uniforms. The 30-year-old who was not herself involved in the protest said that she thought "trying to show the hypocrisy" of the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin "because the celebration of the World Cup is ongoing, along with torture in police stations and torture in prison. "

She added:" It is our responsibility to attract pay attention to these topics. "

Ms. Alyokhina, who was sentenced to two convicted for" religiously motivated hooliganism "after a controversial performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, said that She was "proud" of her action.

"I'm proud of my friends," she said. "I think it's really important to draw attention to the case of political prisoners, police violence, criminal cases taking place for political reasons, and the isolation of Russia on the politics of Vladimir Putin. "

Pussy Riot called for the release of political prisoners, the end of illegal detentions at political rallies, the stopping of politics on social media and more open political competition.

There are 155 political and religious prisoners in Russia, according to its main human rights organization, Memorial.

Ms. Alyokhina was recognized as one of the members of the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners, while Amnesty International named her a prisoner of conscience because of "the severity of the response of the Russian authorities"

Alexander Cheparukhin the collective Pussy Riot, said The Independent that he was not surprised that the militants were sentenced to 15 days in prison.

He challenged the idea that the protesters were facing exceptionally "lenient" sanctions for their actions. all eyes are on Russia

Qualifiant de "prévisible" la phrase de 15 jours, il dit: "Ce n'est pas petit. Ce n'est pas grand. Quinze jours est la sanction administrative la plus courante. Vous obtiendrez 15 jours pour être ivre et briser le visage de quelqu'un. "

M. Cheparukhin, qui est producteur musical du spectacle Riot Days de Pussy Riot, basé sur le livre éponyme de Mme Alyokhina, a attiré l'attention sur le fait qu'il n'était pas Au lieu de cela, il l'a qualifiée de "violation administrative".

Il a dit: "Je ne pense pas que quiconque au Kremlin veuille une autre peine de prison pour Pussy Riot.Pussy Riot a été condamné à deux ans de prison. Ils les ont accusés de quelque chose qu'ils n'ont pas fait – ils les ont accusés de hooliganisme motivé par la haine religieuse. "

Il a ajouté:" Je pense que les actions de Pussy Riot au La Coupe du Monde était courageuse et politique mais je ne pense pas que la punition soit politique, c'est mon opinion personnelle, quelqu'un pourrait penser que chaque cas est discuté par Poutine mais je n'aime pas la conspiration. "