Russia: The Pussy Riot and perspective Russian courts

On August 2, four days after the start of the trial of the Pussy Riot , began another hearing in Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals Federal District. Unlike its more famous counterpart, this trial has not caught the attention either of the network or media, though, somehow, is equally indicative of dysfunctional approaches of Russia on the law and order.

The lack of public interest is particularly curious considering the extensive coverage it received the original incident. In 2011, a gang composed of immigrants hired Caucasus allegedly attacked a village called Sagra [ru], a result of a local dispute related to a drug dealer unimportant. Aleksei Navalny compared to the locals, who managed to defend and even kill one of the assailants, with Spartan warriors [ru].

The Russian band Pussy Riot during the trial courts Tagansky, Moscow, Russia (July 4, 2012), Anton Belitskiy photo, copyright © Demotix.

Meanwhile, Navalny has described the components of Pussy Riot arrested for " crazy "[ru] and their actions" a publicity stunt ". This, it seems, did not stop him when attempting, through a scheme of their own, taking sides as a witness in the trial group [ru], it seems to attest to the "political nature" of the band's performance was out the month of February in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The court did not allow Navalny provided testimony. Navalny has not made any comment on the case Sagra.

Perhaps the feeling would have been different if Evgeny Roizman [in], Yekaterinburg drug activist, had not been involved in the case from the beginning. It was partly his campaign to raise public awareness following the incident which currently makes the trial itself be 'boring' for most Russians. At first, he blamed the villagers, but the bandits, of inciting violence, which meant that Russian "good, honest" had problems with the law. Currently, however, are judged 23 alleged members of the gang [ru].

Still, even now, it is puzzling that the case Sagra look like boring or unimportant. After all, one person died and the lives and property of people were endangered. The whole episode smacks of dangerous tendencies of anarchy and power vacuums in isolated regions. Although the attack in question ended quickly and almost without bloodshed, armed robberies have been other small communities that did not end well, you only need to remember the slaughter Kushchevskaya [ru].

The case is also a good example of how justice operates Russian-has all the hallmarks of dysfunction: a process in which victims and perpetrators are exchanged on a whim, under public pressure, and the release of some of the accused bail [ru], while a veteran tried by the same court in a different case and without violence takes about a year without being able to leave custody.

The trial has accused Sagra even swearing in the room and asking the judge to refrain from participating. The judge, of course, refused. One defendant was bitten by a dog safety [ru], while another is mixed martial arts champion.

There are also links to the proposal of Senator Aleksandr Torshin of liberalized handgun ownership [in]. Would they have been able to better defend the inhabitants of Sagra with guns instead of hunting rifles? Or offenders would have greater opportunities to attack, if they had access to those guns?

So why Russian bloggers are happening overlooked? Is it worth just a short attention span? At the end of the day, it's been a full year since the incident. Or it may be that this case is located near Moscow and therefore fails to sneak into the national radar? Maybe not a case too political, despite Roizman participation?

Perhaps the fault is as a unique approach to the presumption of innocence. Once the court of public opinion has condemned the attackers, the trial may no longer matters. Clearly, not all thugs hired 23 share the same guilt. However, Roizman called them "idiots" for not apologizing [ru], just as they are called for Pussy Riot apologize (which finally did [ru]).

On August 3, the journalist Vladimir Soloviev headed on Twitter [ru] the endless discussions about the trial of Pussy Riot: "No one will ever understand that our courts treat everyone this way." Until the public did not stop to look at a single case at a time and pay attention to the legal landscape, it is likely that nothing changes.

Written by Andrey Tselikov · Translated by Noelia Jimenez · View original post [en] · Comments (0)
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