In February 2014, members of the punk band were beaten during a performance. The Human Rights Court has now sentenced Russia to a fine – but the payout is considered unlikely.
The AP news agency and other media showed the February 2014 incident in Sochi, Russia, on YouTube: A small group of scantily clad young women put on balaclavas and began to sing.
So-called Cossacks, men in ancient uniforms, quickly appear, beating and manhandling them with a whip, even when one is on the ground. But the young women don’t stop singing – the refrain: “Putin will teach you to love your fatherland.”
Tear gas is sprayed in your face. Their arms are violently pulled. And the guitarist who accompanies the song gets hit on the head with the guitar, making him bleed.
No legal prosecution in Russia
Since the men in uniform were not being prosecuted in Russia, the activists turned to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This is the second time this court has dealt with state action against the feminist punk band Pussy Riot.
In 2012, three members were sentenced to two years in prison after an action in a Moscow church in Russia. At that time, the European judges ruled that Russia had to pay them up to 16,000 euros in compensation because they had not incited violence or hatred.
payment unlikely
This time, too, the Strasbourg court condemned Russia. The Cossacks acted in the service of the state. The activists are to receive 15,000 euros per person for inhuman treatment and violation of freedom of expression.
However, it is very unlikely that the Russian state will pay them this money. Russia has not been a member of the Council of Europe since last year. In any case, the Human Rights Court only dealt with the matter because the Sochi protest took place before Russia left.