Pussy Riot have been found guilty of hooliganism – and Russian state prosecutors are pushing for a three-year jail term.
The feminist punk band created a storm of political controversy in February when they played an anti-Putin 'punk prayer' in a Moscow cathedral. It asked the Virgin Mary to remove Putin from power.
Since the event the three-member band become something of a movement, with additional young women in Russia donning the group’s trademark coloured masks and joining its ranks.
The three official members - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Marina Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 - were seen handcuffed and in a glass courtroom cage today, laughing and smiling at eachother as judge Marina Syrova read out the guilty verdict.
"Tolokonnikova, Samutsevich and Alyokhina committed an act of hooliganism, a gross violation of public order showing obvious disrespect for society," the judge said, suggesting their protest was based on "motives of religious hatred and enmity".
Protestors both in support and against Pussy Riot gathered around the Moscow court for the verdict, the BBC reports.
Since their trial began, Pussy Riot have gained global support, not least from British music icons including Jarvis Cocker, Pete Townshend, Johnny Marr, along with backing from Madonna and Bjork.
Update: A Moscow judge sentenced the three memebers of Pussy Riot to two years in jail for hooliganism following initial verdict reports.
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