Punk protesters got what they deserved

“Punk protesters got what they deserved - Yes or no I respect them for standing-up for what they feel was right for them. The sufferjets did so to win the vote for women for a basic example ans so on.”

“If Graham you really believe " I place this diatribe from Francisca in the same pigeonhole as the theatre-goers who complain about profanity and lewdness in a play, or TV viewers who abhor violence and sexual themes for an entire programme without resorting to the off-switch"

A bit off difference I think to religious people surely in their worship? How about a funeral or wedding being disturbed? Anyway totally agree about thearttre and TV.”

“@ 4_Stroke; "Judging by their giggles and general lack of concern with their situation its hard to sympathise. It seems like they got exactly what they wanted."


I reckon you're right - tons of worldwide publicity for their 'band'...”

“Quote: "If you read the lyrics of the song the women performed, you can see how truly offensive it would be for anyone in a church to be forced to listen to"...

I don't think anyone was FORCED to listen to the group - they could have left the building; and as for reading the lyrics?, don't!!

The clips I've seen of the 'performance' didn't entertain me either (but music is a subjective topic). I place this diatribe from Francisca in the same pigeonhole as the theatre-goers who complain about profanity and lewdness in a play, or TV viewers who abhor violence and sexual themes for an entire programme without resorting to the off-switch.

Sometimes I think some people enjoy being offended just so that they can trumpet to others about their own moral ideals. It was a protest song, nothing more or less, get over it...”

“Judging by their giggles and general lack of concern with their situation its hard to sympathise. It seems like they got exactly what they wanted.”

“The mistake they made was not to flee to the Ecuador Embassy.”

“gradyjames, I find YOUR comment somewhat strange, too! There is a huge difference between this sentence, which we would consider disproportionate, and the extreme punishments that you allude to that are carried out in other countries, including the so-called civilised USA, which still takes away people's lives in the name of justice.

I am totally opposed to capital punishment in any form, but the sentence imposed on these women in Russia is not extreme, just greater than would hgave been used here in the UK. That does not make it wrong, or something for us to get hot under the collar about.

I am sure that if these women had not been minor celebrities we would not even have heard about it. That is the power of the press.”

“I find your comment very strange CGLee. I agree with you that Putin's hand was plainly involved here - something the letter writer VERY naively seems to ignore, or even deny. Yet, at the same time, you seem to condone this outrageous sentence on the grounds that it is in Russia and it cannot be compared to the punishment regime in other countries - or the UK in particular.

Surely that's exactly the point - it SHOULD be compared and if the comparison renders the punishment patently immoral or inappropriate then should be highlighted and noises should be made to try to persuade the country to change. That is why some Western countries have made diplomatic approaches to Russia to express there opinion that the punishment is out of line with the crime.

If we accepted all wrong doings in other countries merely on the grounds that it is another country and cannot be compared with the UK (or other countries) then we would accept all the political or other atrocities carried out in the past by despotic leaders and their ilk.

This punishment had very little to do with the blasphemy occasionned by the fact that these people chose to express their views in a church and through church language. Plainly it wasn't a good choice because one assumes they could have made their politic point without upsetting the Orthodox church. The punishment would have been the same, one imagines, which is why Ms Martinez's letter misses the point but at least they would not have antagonised her or her friends.

Ms Martinez frequently writes on these religious issues and always from her Catholic standpoint. I do not disagree with her on some issues - such as abortion - but on others her views are, in my opinion, extreme and morally dangerous.”

“What people have to realise is that this offence was committed in Russia, not in the UK or any other part of the EU. The legal system, and punishments for offences are different there and cannot be compared to what would have happened to the women here in the UK.

I do not think that they should have been sentenced to such a sentence either, but they must have known the risk that they were taking by behaving in this deplorable manner.

Don't kid yourself that Putin had no hand in this. The insults were against him and he is a very powerful man in Russia. I would guess that the sentences that they received were at the top end of the scale because of the "Putin" factor.

Incidentally, Francesca is a feminine name, and from the name I would suspect that the writer is a Roman Catholic, so highly unlikely to be a priest!”

“I've seldom read such a misogynistic rant, and what a surprise it comes from a priest. He thinks that 2 years in Siberia is what you deserve for disrupting a church service to make a political point about a leader widely regarded as, at best, autocratic?

They should certainly have been removed from the church, and it would have been much better to make their point somewhere public - but that isnt a crime deserving a prison sentence, let alone two year in Siberia. Even the Russian church has expressed a view that the sentence is totally disproportionate. And it is widely condemned in Russia.

Putin has form with the Russian media and anyone criticising him, but Martinez knows otherwise "Putin probably couldn't care less what these women have said about him" - tell that to Alexander Litvinenko.

I am stunned that anyone would defend Putin, unfair Russian trials and political judges right to free speech - just to make a point that they should have a right to follow their religion in peace. Yes, you do have that right - but anyone that disagrees, or momentarily and non-violently disrupts that does not deserve prison in Siberia.”