World Cup final: Pussy Riot pitch invaders handed unusually lenient charge only 'because world was watching', human rights groups warn

'Outside of the World Cup the charges could have been different and possibly criminal'

Protesters who stormed the pitch at the football World Cup final in Moscow are facing unusually “lenient” penalties for their actions – but human rights groups fear the more tolerant attitude towards protests only happened during the sporting tournament because “the world was watching” and is unlikely to last.

Four members of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot invaded the pitch dressed in police uniforms during the second half of yesterday's match between France and Croatia at Moscow’s 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium.

Some of the protesters were able to exchange high fives with French players before being dragged off by security while Russian president Vladimir Putin watched from the VIP box.

The Interfax Russian news agency reported that they were charged with administrative offences including violating spectators’ rights at sporting events and illegally wearing police uniforms. The maximum penalty for both charges combined is a total of 11,500 rubles (£140) and 160 hours of community service. They could also be banned from attending sporting events and have the police uniform confiscated.

Tanya Lokshina, associate director for Europe and Central Asia for Human Rights Watch, said she believes the reason for the “lenient” treatment of the protesters this weekend was because “it was the final game of the World Cup and the world was watching”.

“Even in this case where protesters were arrested, the arrests were not brutal and the sanctions against them were fairly light,” she told The Independent. “This is the World Cup reality as far as Russia is concerned – this reality stretched to cover the Pussy Riot stunt during the final gig, but now it is over."

But the lighter treatment of protesters during the World Cup was an “exception”, she said, which human rights groups feared was “not going to carry on”. She said many feared the treatment of protesters was likely to get worse.

“Outside of the World Cup the charges could have been different and possibly criminal as opposed to administrative – but it is the World Cup and the world was watching therefore the charges were lenient," she said. "If you think about the original Pussy Riot case which made headlines, it was a prank, a stunt, and yet those women were charged with criminal 'hooliganism'," she said.

Three members of Pussy Riot were jailed for two years for holding an anti-Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral in 2012, in a sentence widely condemned as disproportionate. One was later freed on probation, but the other two remained in jail for most of their sentence.

“Human Rights Watch is very worried that now the World Cup with all its hype and glitter is over, the crackdown on civil society in Russia is going to intensify and become even harsher than before.”

She compared the situation to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, when a number of political prisoners, including members of Pussy Riot, were freed at a time when Russia was “craving positive publicity” on an international stage. But soon after the Olympics came to and end, harsh treatment of protesters “resumed with staggering intensity”. She said many feared a similar situation could arise once more.

Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for Sunday's protest and shared a list of their demands online in a social media post.

These included freeing all political prisoners including Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, stopping “illegal arrests” at rallies, and not imprisoning people “for likes”. They also called for political competition to be allowed in the country, among other requests.

The group later tweeted that four of their members had been arrested and made to stay at a police station overnight. They also claimed they had not been allowed to see their lawyer.

A video of two of the protesters, still dressed in police uniform, being interrogated at the station was widely shared on social media.

A man’s voice who does not appear on the screen says he is “sorry it’s not 1937”, seemingly referring to a time when Stalin was in power and the Great Purge – a campaign repressing political activism – took place.

It was a time when many dissenters were executed. He also accused them of “dumping” over Russia.