Pussy Riot
President Vladimir Putin was in London yesterday for official government business - but he also managed a quick visit to the Olympics and watched a bit of the judo competition - which must have been nice and relaxing.
Meanwhile back in Moscow three dangerous Russian criminals - see photo above - have been locked up up until January 2013 for performing a 'punk prayer' in church.
Hard to believe - but there you are - the terrible trio Yekaterina Samutsevich, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina - are all members of a feminist punk band which goes under the name of 'Pussy Riot'.
For the grievous crime of singing in church the young women have already been held in custody since March 2012.
And if found guilty when their full trial comes around in January 2013 the three members of Pussy Riot face up to seven years in jail.
Now I'm no great fan of punk - but this all does seem a bit over the top - even by the standards of President Putin's government.
Locking people up for long spells simply for engaging in a peaceful public protest - is all about crushing dissent and free speech - not about restoring public order.
Apparently the Russian Orthodox Church - which has close links with Putin despite being repressed by the KBG for many years - is backing the decision to keep the women in jail.
Top church officials have spoken out in favour of their continued incarceration - and are presumably pushing for a further lengthy prison sentence - which doesn't sound too Christian to me.
Who'da thought - organised religion siding with a repressive state?
Sounds like present day Iran - or going back a bit in time - Spain under Franco or Italy under Mussolini.
