The Russian authorities have once again shown that criticizing the war in Ukraine and its crimes is dangerous. The Basmanny Court of Moscow sentenced the members of the music group Pussy Riot in absentia to terms ranging from eight to 13 years in a penal colony. This was reported by the BBC, according to UNN.
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The longest sentence - 13 years and 15 days - was given to Maria Alyokhina. Taso Pletner was sentenced to 11 years, and Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot, and Alina Petrova - to 8 years. All those convicted have already left Russia, so the verdict was announced in absentia.
The women were accused of spreading "military fakes" and "actions against the authorities." Two key episodes figured in the case: a music video for the song "Mama, Don't Watch TV," which, according to the investigation, contained allegedly "false" information about the crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine, and an anti-war action last year in Munich. There, Pletner placed a poster with the image of the Russian president in the Pinakothek der Moderne, on which she performed indecent acts.
Pussy Riot categorically denies any guilt and emphasizes: the state must be able to accept criticism, and their actions are an expression of civic position and a protest against the war.