Russian Billionaire: Pussy Riot Case Highlights Inefficiency of Russian Justice

In an interview given to the Financial Times Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, chief executive of Rusal, said, in particular, that the Pussy Riot case highlights the inefficiency of Russian justice. Two members of the all-female Pussy Riot band were sentenced to two-year jail terms for singing a protest song against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral. According to Deripaska, if the justice system had “worked properly”, the women would have been sentenced to 15 days’ community service. Instead they were detained for too long, and the system then had to justify itself by putting them on trial. As the businessman puts it, “someone had to cover their ass”. “The Russian law enforcement system is so strong that it will defend itself ’til the last bullet,” explained the billionaire, adding that the Russian FSB security service is now “twice as big” as the Soviet KGB.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bf25f192-8d84-11e2-a0fd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2NtvvtIun