Yekaterina Samutsevich’s Closing Statement

In case you missed it, Chtodelat News has a full translation of Yekaterina Samutsevich’s closing statement at the Pussy Riot trial, together with links to the text in Russian and videos of closing statements by each of the group’s members.  In addition to the stark conclusion posted below, Samutsevich’s statement is full of barbs noting the discrepancies between the Russia that Vladimir Putin seeks to project on the international stage vs. the repressive reality of a government that dismisses the rule of law in order to have its way.

I now have mixed feelings about this trial. On the one hand, we now expect a guilty verdict. Compared to the judicial machine, we are nobodies, and we have lost. On the other hand, we have won. Now the whole world sees that the criminal case against us has been fabricated. The system cannot conceal the repressive nature of this trial. Once again, Russia looks different in the eyes of the world from the way Putin tries to present it at daily international meetings. All the steps toward a state governed by the rule of law that he promised have obviously not been made. And his statement that the court in our case will be objective and make a fair decision is another deception of the entire country and the international community. That is all. Thank you.