“I would like you to think carefully about the following reflection by Montaigne from his Essays written in the 16th century. He wrote: “You are holding your opinions in too high a regard if you burn people alive for them.”” These are the words of Nadia Tolokonnikova who in August 2012 was jailed for two years alongside two fellow members of the group Pussy Riot. Her crime was performing a protest song in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. What does it say about the culture of a country when such people are put into jail? Read the closing statement made by Nadia at the conclusion of the trial and decide for yourself.
Update, October 2012 One of the members of Pussy Riot, Yekaterina Samutsevich was released this month with a suspended sentence following an appeal in which she claimed she didn’t fully take part in the performance. Her fellow band mates, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova, both mothers to young children are likely to be sent to distant penal colonies.