A verdict has come down in the widely covered and heavily derided trial of three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot. Judge Marina Syrova convicted the three women, Maria Alyokhina (24), Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (22), and Yekaterina Samutsevich (29), of Hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. The three will serve two years in prison for their protest act in which they sang an anti-Vladimir Putin “prayer” in a Moscow’s Savior Cathedral back in February.The judge’s closing statements said the band “crudely undermined social order,” and that “”Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and Samutsevich committed hooliganism – in other words, a grave violation of public order.”
Before the verdict came down on Thursday Tolokonnikova said “Our imprisonment serves as a clear and unambiguous sign that freedom is being taken away from the entire country.” Video of the protest itself and the reading of the verdict can be seen below.
The trial has gained international coverage and the band has been supported by artists and politicians as varied as Paul McCartney and Madonna to championship chess player Garry Kasparov and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
