ECtHR awards compensations to Pussy Riot* members for Cossack attack in Sochi

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has treated the disruption by Cossacks of the performance of the Pussy Riot* group in Sochi as a violation of the right to the freedom of expression, and awarded the applicants compensations of 15,000 euros each.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 6, 2015, the ECtHR accepted for consideration the complaint submitted by the members of the Pussy Riot* group against the policemen who had refused to investigate the case of the Cossacks’ attack on the group in Sochi before the Winter Olympics-2014.

Russian authorities failed to properly investigate the Cossacks’ attack on Pussy Riot* members. The state is responsible for that attack, as Cossacks helped the police during the 2014 Winter Olympics. The attack on Pussy Riot* prevented the group from performing their song. Its members tried to protest. As a result, the right of Pussy Riot* members to the freedom of expression was violated, says the ECtHR’s website.

Let us remind you that on February 19, 2014, Pussy Riot* members and those of the “Voina” (War) art group stated that they had been attacked by Cossacks in Sochi, who sprayed tear gas and beat them up with whips when they tried to film a video. Law enforcement bodies refused to open an investigation into the attack.

*Members of the Pussy Riot group created the “Mediazona” outlet covering political persecutions in modern Russia, and the human rights organization “Zona Prava” (Law Zone), both of which were recognized by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in 2021 as foreign agents.