Thfire.com Everyday news that matters Three members of the Russian Punk bank “Pussy Riot” has been sentenced to 2-years in jail as they have been found guilty of hooliganism. In short, they mocked the Russian president Valdamir Putin during a “punk prayer” in a Moscow cathedral.
Judge Marina Syrova announced the verdict from a district court in central Moscow, about two miles from the Christ the Saviour Cathedral where the guerrilla group performed its “flash” stunt.
The band members–Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30–were arrested on March 3, several weeks after the performance, and charged with “hooliganism.” They’ve been in jail ever since.
Their trial drew enormous international interest, sparking catcalls from international free-speech advocates and spawning dozens of protests. Some of those were reported on Twitter during the verdict and sentencing, involving an impromptu musical concert and some protests in public areas in Moscow and London.
Madonna, Bjork, Paul McCartney and Courtney Love were among a long list of musicians to come out in support of Pussy Riot, calling on the Russian government to set the band members free. Last week in Berlin, more than 400 people joined a protest led by electro-singer Peaches.
Pussy Riot’s stunt at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church, was a response, they said, to Patriarch Kirill’s public support of Putin in the build-up to Russia’s presidential election. Putin won a third term as president in March.
“Holy Mother, send Putin packing!” the group sang.
The Guardian called the trial, which began on July 30, “worse than Soviet era.”.
