Pussy Riot Sentenced to Two Years in Prison by Russian Court

A Moscow judge sentenced three members of the provocative punk band Pussy Riot to two years in prison each on hooliganism charges on Friday following a trial that has drawn international outrage as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent. The trial sparked a wave of protests around the world in support of the feminist rockers, who have been dubbed prisoners of conscience by international rights group.

Judge Marina Syrova said in her verdict that the three band members “committed hooliganism driven by religious hatred” and offended religious believers. She rejected the women’s arguments that they were protesting the Orthodox Church’s support for Putin and didn’t want to hurt the feelings of believers.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich stood in handcuffs in a glass cage in the courtroom for three hours as the judge read the verdict. They smiled sadly at the testimony of prosecution witnesses accusing them of sacrilege and “devilish dances” in church.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sit behind a glass wall at the court in Moscow. (Mikhail Metzel/Associated Press)

Demonstrators attend rallies of support for Pussy Riot outside the Russian Embassy in London, and in Berlin. (Associated Press)

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, center, Yekaterina Samutsevich, third left, and Maria Alekhina, second right, members of feminist punk group Pussy Riot are escorted by the police to a court in Moscow. (Mikhail Metzel/Associated Press)

Feminist punk group Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova show the court’s verdict as they sit in the glass cage in the courtroom in Moscow,. A judge found three members of the provocative punk band Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism. (Mikhail Metzel/Associated Press)

Pussy Riot supporters place masks on a monument to WWII heroes to resemble members of the group, at a subway station in Moscow. (Yevgeny Feldman/Novaya Gazeta)

Demonstrators attend a rally in support of Pussy Riot in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Associated Press)

Police detain a supporter of Pussy Riot outside the court in Moscow, and another officer tries to detain a masked supporter of Pussy Riot inside the Turkish embassy near the court. (Associated Press)