Photo: Reuters / Maxim Shemetov

Members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been found guilty of “hooliganism” motivated by “religious hatred”.

Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samoutsevitch were each given two year jail sentences, starting from the date of arrest in March – the prosecution had asked for three years, but various circumstances (two of them having children, it being their first offences, and good character references) led to a two year sentence. ”Shame” was shouted by at least one person present in the courtroom, but the group members appeared in good spirits given the circumstances.

In her summing up statement, the judge, referring to the protest staged by the women, said: “It was a small act but maybe not a very elegant act but they consider that it is the country which is sick. For them, individuals are not important, they consider that education in Russia is still in the Soviet mould. And that there is still cruelty in the country and that prison is a miniature of Russia itself” [via The Guardian].

She continued: “The Pussy Riot singers colluded under unestablished circumstances, for the purpose of offensively violating public peace in a sign of flagrant disrespect for citizens […] The women were motivated by religious enmity and hatred, and acted provocatively and in an insulting manner inside a religious building in the presence of a large number of believers.” The women’s defence had argued that they hadn’t intended to offend religious people or the church through their actions.

As the verdict of guilty was read out, protesters outside Russia’s London embassy shouted “shame” and “Putin scum”. There was also a string quartet, playing in protest. Five paddy wagons have reportedly already been filled with protesters outside the court – including former chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who, it was claimed, was not even protesting. As The Quietus reports, Kasparov retired from chess in 2005 to oppose Putin, and posted a statement online just hours before being arrested, describing “Putin and his criminal regime” as “a Russian problem for Russians to solve”, but decrying “western hypocrisy about human rights” when they take no serious measures to intervene in the country.

“I am glad artists like Paul McCartney and Madonna are speaking out, but until Interpol and EU parliaments and American legislators take action to penalize Putin’s cronies for criminal, financial, and human rights violations, all the press chatter in the world makes little difference”, he continued. “Tell the young children of Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina that their mothers ‘are winning a PR battle’ while they sit in prison for three years for political protest!”

Bizarrely, despite Twitter being dominated by the #PussyRiot hash-tag, it never appeared as a trending topic (when for instance this Monday’s FACT mix by DJ Q, minor in comparison to this case, did trend), leading many to suspect foul play.