'Mother of God, Drive Putin Away': On Blasphemy and Activist Art in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights

in: Jeroen Temperman and András Koltay (eds.), Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression: Comparative, Theoretical and Historical Reflections after the Charlie Hebdo Massacre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017), pp. 294-314

20 Pages Posted: 30 Nov 2017

See all articles by Jeroen Temperman

Jeroen Temperman

Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Date Written: November 28, 2017

Abstract

This paper analyzes Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer, the performance of which in a Moscow cathedral resulted in harsh penalties for members of this protest group. He argues that the content and performance of the song can be considered both religious – feminist religious speech contributions on matters of religious orthodoxy – and political – anti-establishment speech, with the establishment consisting of the Putin regime, the Russian Orthodox Church and especially the liaison between the latter – speech. Accordingly, Pussy Riot’s activist art falls squarely within the category of protected speech under international free speech standards. Russia’s conviction of the members of the punk group over allegations of ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’ shows, according to the author, how religious speech offences can be abused by states to stifle speech that is deemed undesirable by secular and / or ecclesiastical authorities.

Keywords: Pussy Riot, freedom of expression, activist art, blasphemy, "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred", Russia, human rights, European Court of Human Rights, European Convention on Human Rights

Suggested Citation

Temperman, Jeroen, 'Mother of God, Drive Putin Away': On Blasphemy and Activist Art in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (November 28, 2017). in: Jeroen Temperman and András Koltay (eds.), Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression: Comparative, Theoretical and Historical Reflections after the Charlie Hebdo Massacre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017), pp. 294-314, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3078578

Jeroen Temperman (Contact Author)

Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam ( email )

3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://ridms.nl/temperman/

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