The applicants Mariya Alekhina and others were accused by the Russian Federation of extremist behavior related to their performances as the band ‘Pussy Riot’. One of the reasons that the Court in Russia found the applicants guilty for their actions of extremism was due to their support of feminism, which “interferes with various areas of social relations such as morality, rules of decency, family relations, sexual relations, including those of a non-traditional nature, which were historically constructed on the basis of religious views” (para 54); however, the ECtHR did not uphold the decision of the Russian Federation.
EXCERPT:
52. The District Court’s main reasons for finding that the applicants had committed hooliganism motivated by religious hatred were as follows: “The court cannot accept the defence’s argument that the defendants’ actions were not motivated by religious hatred and enmity or hatred against a social group. The court finds that the defendants’ actions were motivated by religious hatred for the following reasons. The defendants present themselves as supporters of feminism, a movement for equality between women and men. … At the present time people belonging to the feminist movement fight for equality of the sexes in political, family and sexual relations. Belonging to the feminist movement is not unlawful and is not a criminal offence in the Russian Federation. A number of religions, such as the Orthodox Church, Catholicism and Islam, have a religious, dogmatic basis incompatible with the ideas of feminism. And while feminism is not a religious theory, its adherents interfere with various areas of social relations such as morality, rules of decency, family relations, sexual relations, including those of a non-traditional nature, which were historically constructed on the basis of religious views.
The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights can be found here>>
