Strasbourg, 17/08/12 – Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland today expressed his profound disappointment at the verdict delivered by Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court against the Pussy Riot group (Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samusevich).

 

“Today three young women were condemned to a prison term of two years away from their children. Many would argue that the Pussy Riot group should have chosen a more appropriate place in which to express their opinions. Of course, freedom of expression, which includes the right to express dissenting political opinions, also requires that the right will be exercised responsibly. However, the sentence against the Pussy Riot group, as well as the length and conditions of their pre-trial detention seem harsh in relation to the nature of the offence committed in a secular state, member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights,” Mr Jagland insisted.

 

Verdict in the ‘Pussy Riot’ trial: in the light of Council of Europe standards, a disproportionate sentence, says PACE President