Guilty: Russian punk band Pussy Riot face three years hard labor after being convicted of hooliganism

Mike Gallagher

Aug 17, 2012 - 09:37

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Guilty: Russian punk band Pussy Riot face three years hard labor after being convicted of hooliganism

Pussy Riot punk band members jailed for 2 years by Russian court for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred

The three members of punk band Pussy Riot who staged a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a church have been sentenced to two years in jail by a Moscow court.

Sitting together inside a glass-walled cage Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, smiled as the guilty verdict was read out.

Judge Marina Syrova said the three band members had 'carefully planned' their February 21 action inside the Christ the Saviour Cathedral and that they 'expressed no repentance' and 'offended the feelings of believers.'

$\"Time$

Time to reflect: The Pussy Riot band members show the court's written verdict as they sit in a glass cage surrounded by the world's media

The three women - two of whom have children - have said they were protesting against close ties between Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers.

It was a heated scene outside the Moscow court and about 20 people were arrested during the judgement including former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now an opposition political figure.

The crowd outside swelled to about 400 Pussy Riot supporters, with police trying to divide demonstrators into two groups.

$\"Undaunted:$

Undaunted: Sitting together, Yekaterina Samutsevich (left ), Maria Alyokhina (centre) and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova smiled as the guilty verdict was read out

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The women, two of whom have young children, were charged with hooliganism connected to religious hatred but the case is widely seen as a waing that authorities will only tolerate opposition under tightly controlled conditions