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Subscribe to RSSThree members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot remain in jail after a performance in protest of Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
Updated at 11:29 a.m. ET: MOSCOW -- A judge sentenced three women who staged an anti-Kremlin protest on the altar of Moscow's main Russian Orthodox church to two years in jail each on Friday in a trial seen as test of President Vladimir Putin's tolerance of dissent.
The trio from punk band Pussy Riot, handcuffed in a courtroom cage, reacted with giggles and one rolled her eyes when the judge issued the sentences after reading the guilty verdict for almost three hours.
A man in the courtroom shouted "Shame!" and hundreds of protesters outside the Moscow courthouse repeated that chant and whistled when news of the sentence came.
"They are in jail because it is Putin's personal revenge," opposition leader Alexei Navalny said in the courtroom. "This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin."
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for performing a "punk prayer" in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral. They called on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin.
Their feminist punk collective has about 10 members who appear in public in ski masks for anonymous impromptu performances they describe as a form of protest art.
The defendants said they were protesting against close ties between Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers, but the judge rejected those arguments.
The U.S. Embassy in Russia criticized the sentences.
"Today's sentence in the Pussy Riot case looks disproportionate to the actions," the U.S. Embassy in Russia wrote in Russian on Friday on its Twitter microblog.
Pussy Riot supporters protest at Russian cathedral as global campaign heats up
Prosecutors had requested three-year sentences. The two-year sentences include the nearly six months served since the defendants were jailed following the Feb. 21 protest.
Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP - Getty Images
Members of the punk band Pussy Riot -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, center, Maria Alyokhina, right, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, left -- are escorted Friday by policewomen inside a Moscow court building.
In a sign of the tension over the trial in a small Moscow courtroom, Judge Marina Syrova was assigned bodyguards on Thursday following what authorities said were threats.
Divisions
The trial divided Russia's Orthodox Christians, with many backing the authorities' demands for severe punishment, but others saying the women should be granted clemency.
The trial featured a parade of state witnesses who say they were traumatized by the church performance, which prosecutors called an abuse of God.
Russia's Pussy Riot: Unmasked and on trial
Ahead of the verdict, their lawyers said the outcome will be dictated by the Kremlin. Putin's supporters denied that and portrayed the women as blasphemers and self-publicists who should be punished for committing a premeditated outrage against the Church.
Members of Pussy Riot were found guilty Friday after staging this protest on Feb. 21, 2012, inside Christ The Savior Cathedral in Moscow.
"It was a conscious deed. They understood quite clearly where they were going and why," said Vladimir Burmatov, who represents Putin's United Russia party in parliament.
Pussy Riot was formed last year in anger at Putin's decision to return to the presidency in an election after four years as premier. The band's public performances were popular on the Internet, but it is the trial that has brought them global fame.
The charges against them raised concern abroad about freedom of speech in Russia two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Pop star Madonna has joined the chorus of criticism over the trial of a Russian women's punk band accused of religious hatred. The three women face years in jail after mounting a protest against Vladimir Putin on the altar of the country's main cathedral. It's part of a widening government crackdown on dissent. ITV's Paul Davies reports.
Small, but raucous protests were held Friday in a few dozen cities in support of the three women. A few dozen people came out in Barcelona, Spain, a couple hundred in Paris, and a handful in Washington. Other rallies were held in Bulgaria, Ukraine and elsewhere.
More Russia coverage from NBCNews.com
The opposition says Putin saw the trial initially as a chance to strengthen his relationship with the influential Russian Orthodox Church -- about 70 percent of Russians say they follow the faith -- but his plans backfired.
Although believers were united in outrage that the band thrashed out a "punk prayer" deriding Putin in a place they consider sacrosanct, many were upset by the Church hierarchy's lack of forgiveness and calls for "divine retribution."
From March 2012: Anti-Putin activists pay high price, but refuse to back down
Many Russians, including some of the Orthodox faithful, are concerned about ties between church and state under Patriarch Kirill, who has praised Putin's rule as a "miracle of God."
Aware that a long sentence could reinforce the picture Pussy Riot has painted of him as intolerant and repressive, Putin told reporters this month that although the women had done "nothing good," they should not be judged too harshly.
But the damage to Putin's image abroad has already been done, and divisions between his supporters and opponents have widened, risking polarizing society even more than when protests took off against his 12-year-rule during the winter.
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In moves seen by the opposition as a crackdown, parliament has recently rushed through laws increasing fines for protesters, tightening controls on the Internet -- which is used to arrange protests -- and imposing stricter rules on defamation.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Because you have the "right" to do something doesn't mean you "should". A free society decides to allow you to exercise certain rights; a civilized society decides when its appropriate to do so, and when its not.
Being "appropriate" or not was not the concern of the Russian police- they were protecting people's property. PROTECTING not APPROPIATE.
Don't mistake Putin Russia for a civilized society.
Well said Markus.
Wrong again Boo...not well said. Who's to say what is appropriate? Whose definition and values? Personally I think riding on your taxpayer funded scooterchair with a pro-life bumpersticker and carrying a mispelled sign demanding that the "Govment" keep their hands off your medicare and out of your life is highly inappropriate. Such ignorance should not be allowed in a civilized society. So, should we put those people in jail?
"Who's to say what is appropriate?" Well Blue like Marcus said society decides... they become your judge. They don't like how you roll... your in trouble. You don't like how society rolls... make and change laws... if you can't because society doesn't agree... then you need to move or you'll find yourself again, in trouble.
That is a very simple version... not much time... i am at work. gotta make that money.
So again... Well said Marcus.
Poor babies. They cannot take over public property for publicity to sell more tickets. Bad Russians- give them money like many spoiled brats here in the US expect for doing nothing constructive.
Babies? Nothing construtive? Do you realize how important and brave it is to stand up to Putin and his kind? You are lost.
Bobby - by spoiled brats who expects money for doing nothing, are you referring to people like George W. Bush? now that's not nice.
You mean the same Putin that has brought Russia's debt to below 10% while ours sits at over 100%. Can we get his kind over here?
And Hitler made the trains run on time.
What's that rule again? When you compare someone to Hitler to make your argument, you lose! Putin isn't invading counties (in fact we've done that quite a bit more than Russia lately). Putin isn't gassing people in concentration camps either. So I guess jail time for low lifes that storm into a church and and play bad music to the chagrin of the devout makes him him equal to Hitler in your book. Well if that's all Hitler really did let's bring him here too.
Hitler never made the trains run on time.
You leftists are all the same, Hitler is your god.
According to you, everything Hitler did was wrong.
Hitler ate food.
Hitler breathed.
Hitler loved his mother.
Hitler wore clothes.
Hitler took baths.
Hitler slept.
Hitler died.
Hitler was born.
Hitler was an earthling.
Hitler read.
Hitler went to work.
Are all those things bad?
Things are bad, because they are bad, not because Hitler did them.
Like the evil of homosexuality and Pussy Riot!
Snoop Marky Mark - Evil of homosexuality? Your interpretation of homosexuality and choice of words have no credibility here. You're drifting from the subject as well as spewing your hatred. Every society has limitations and consequences. This group crossed the line in "their" society and now will suffer the consequences of "their" actions within "their" society. "Our" society is not "their" society and things operate differently here. Rosa Parks broke the law in Montgomery, Alabama when she decided not to move to the back of the bus. Old rules and laws can change as societies evolve. Our country and society is trying to evolve. Those that hold onto hateful prejudices do nothing for the evolvement of the society. Change is good.
So following this logic, McCartney should have years in jail for 'Hey Jude"??!!!
How about "Lady Madonna"!!!!
Well Mark... you were on a roll right up till the last line... oh well... have a Hitler weekend... Sarc. off.
Snoop Mark is missing the point. It wasn't a Putin-Hitler comparison. It was to point out that even deadbeats like Hitler or Putin do some things well, i.e. Putin bringing down the national debt and Putin still being a complete @!$%#.
And he's a "complete @!$%#" just because you say so. How about something to back that up besides trying to keep a bad punk band from taking over a church.
swan, you MUST be a Russian, since no REAL, Patriotic, American would support such a harsh sentence for Freedom of Speech.
So happens you are wrong. I'm American. Maybe I should exercise my freedom of speech by setting up my amp on your front lawn and blasting power chords at your house. Of course that would be trespassing and disturbing the peace but since you don't seem to recognize such things so it shouldn't matter.
Hmmm .... go on ....
What type of music are we talking?
hey, I could handle 40 seconds of whatever noise you can make (the length of their "performance").
better still, why don't I go to your church and make forty seconds of pro-obama noise?
a church is still a public place, and the entire thing was over in forty seconds. the thing may have been in poor taste, but to criminalize it is to attack freedom of speech, and to attack freedom of speech in this country is to attack the Constitution
so no you certainly are NOT an American at heart
You would be waiting a long time to find me in a church. Knock yourself out. In fact better still, do it in Russia. I'll make an exception if you do that.
Churches are privately owned just like stores are. You can't protest legally in someones store and you can't protest in a church. You may protest both here and in Russia on public property. The penalty may be harsher in Russia and especially in this case but perhaps the Russian courts were tired of things happening like traffic being stopped and giant dicks being painted on public bridges, something that was perpetrated by an organization connected to pussy riot. Maybe they want to try to keep some semblance of order in their country unlike here where we are losing it. Three cheers for that.
Classic. When you are losing an argument accuse the other side of being un-American. That's all you really have left.
the classic argument of tyrants and their followers everywhere through history right up to today, stalin, hitler,assad, etc. all "just trying to maintain order"
I'm going to name my next hamster Pussy Riot in their honor.
Putin is a Republican!
If Madonna ~REALLY~ wants to support them, cancel the f**king concert. Refuse to boost their economy. Money is the only common language dictators like him speak.
Putin has the ability to free these women. After today's verdict, I am fairly certain the the whole country will break down in turmoil...Just what they need. (No, not being facetious) Putti-Put has said these women should not be prosecuted...let's see what he has to say now. Isn't it weird how the young people of this location think that they're free!!! Russia is communist...but I smell revolution AGAIN!
HOORAY!!!
No...what he said was that they should not be punished to harshly. He condones punishment. In any case the court will decide their fate.
Net
Yeah, we'll what he says in public and what he orders in private may be two different things. Time will tell if he was lying or not. My guess would be he is.
We should have nuked 'em back in the 50's when we had the chance.
What has happened to Putin.? Did the election remove his Balls as well.? Why in the Hell didn't they just drag them out into the streets. Shoot them execution style in front of God and everybody. That way he wouldn't have anything to worry about. We all know that Russia does not want people saying anything negative about the Gov.
I would like to remind joebuck that the Russians a leftist not Republicans-----idiot.
"Itiot"?
Denis
The Russian are not 'leftists'. They may call themselves a democracy but they are fast moving to a totaltalitarian regime.
The church got a free concert
You don't know how lucky you you are boy, back in the US, back in the US , back in the USSR boy.
Vassili Zaitsev is not happy.
RIP Vassily, greatest Russian marksman and hero
Putin will be ousted by a Woman!
bobs ur uncle
Putin is a Republican!-----------boy bob r u confused.
Controlling Women's Rights is right up the GOP's alley!
The one woman in front looks like she has the devil in her eyes. It is good to see that society can catch and punish evil deeds like this. Yes, attacking a church is evil. But, by today's lower conditioned standards. It is no crime.
She probably casts an abnormal shadow too. ?
You are joking I hope. Please look at the history of churches, and their crimes.
What they did may have been in poor taste. But to say it is a crime punishable be anything other then a fine is just dumb.
In the name of the church we kill you. In the name of the church we rape you. In the name of the church we torture you.
Please learn to think for yourself.
Hard for some of these church goers to think for themselves when they have been raised by the twin fangs of guilt and suppression that is the church.
Remember kids, eternal pain and suffering awaits any who question Gods infinite love..... :p
@rob2031
you need to recog that crime is defined by the state
I think it is odd that people think that an omnicient god can even be abused! There is no god to offend, just a lot of superstitious kneelers.
Russia must know by now that the whole world is watching and that they are going to either pass or fail the test of a genuine free society. In a free society, dissidents, even really obnoxious ones who piss off nearly everyone, either get to run around loose or suffer only punishment befitting their crimes and are not hidden away forever or made to disappear permanently. These gals get time served or a fine, Russia passes the test. If we never see or hear of them again, they fail. Which will it be?
good comment, thanks
Obviously the group either doesn't know the laws and consequences for such actions or they ignored them to gain attention negative or positive. Whatever the motive, they should have simply disengaged brain before putting mouth in gear. But what you are reading here in this article is what is becoming in this country as we continue allowing Obama and his goon administration in power. Just saying....
Truely I understand, it is best to let the poor die off so the rich can gain more.
Freedom of expression doesn't mean complete freedom from consequence, indeed often the consequence is part of the message. Creating a public nuisance or disturbing the peace or trespassing carry consequences, sometimes up to a month or so in jail. Some people may even have to suffer a face full of pepper spray! In the United States, many people feel that freedom of expression is dying and yet, we have people occupying parks throughout the country in protest of economic inequity, racist groups get to rally publicly all the time, religious groups loudly and rudely protest at the funerals of our fallen soldiers. None of that would get much tolerance in Russia or a good number of other countries that call themselves democracies. People in those countries would consider themselves quite lucky if they only received short jail terms or mere pepper spray. In a country like Russia, commiting to a public action is a big deal and people who are willing to do it are sometimes putting their lives on the line to do it.
Pussy Riot is obnoxious, crude, disrespectful and loud. they are unlucky enough to live in a land where that in itself is illegal. They are brave enough to do it anyway.
I love the USA.. it may not be perfect but it is the best thing going..
so true
I love America too, but another 4 years of Barry Huesain America might lose her greatness.
This is ok... Soon enough America will be just like this.
People are stupid and brain dead. It is not just our right but our responsability to push question and force the government to look at what it does. Thank whatever god you believe in for people like this. If we did not have anyone willing to question LAWS. Then diffrent races could not be wed. Women could not vote. And people would still be enslaved. How stupid can you be to say that they should get punished more.
I'm tired of stupid ass people preaching their hate and forcing their selfcentered beliefs on others. It says In God We Trust... Not in jesus, in allah, in buddha.
Do not so easily give away your rights. Think before you let fear rule. We have rights for a reason.
Normally I do not square off with individuals with serious flaws in logic. But here goes. Laws are placed for what reason? No matter the law good or bad they will be placed for a reason. Preaching hate as you preach is not really defined in this article. You call people stupid ass but you obvisously do not include yourself. Understandable. No one is giving away their rights. There is a system in human unity that is formed to combat a flawed law. And most times does work. They process these women took upon themselves was not the answer. Protest is good and I condone if done in a peaceful way without instigating a riot and these punk rockers are to me a rebellious group that lacked common sense. I'd say the same thing if the group were of men. I am still asking myself one question though...why protest in a church? I am sure there is a logical answer to this...just don't see it here. Since when do we concern ourselves with other countries and their laws when we have enough problems here with our own leaders and laws? Just who are you to single out individuals about selfcentered beliefs? You appear to be doing a fine job yourself about selfcentered remarks against ones right to their own opinion. You calling people brain dead and stupid. You are a classic example of the word, hypocrite.
The protest was done in the church because of Putin's close ties and support from the church....something which flies in the face of a secular government which they claim to be. It is comparable to...I dunno....the Episcopal church in the US throwing in their hat with one candidate or another. That is why they protested in a church.
As to your comment about laws and the processes we have to get them overturned when they are dumb....well I challenge the veracity of your claim. Did you know that there are states in the union where marriage to anyone outside of your race is still illegal? in 2012? How about the one where it is illegal to eat peanuts in church? Maybe the Florida law which makes it illegal to fart in an elevator? I think your understanding of laws and their purpose is slightly flawed. While some laws are indeed written for the common good, there are others which are clearly written to control for the sake of controlling. Nothing more, nothing less. I say to you, sir, that protest (both lawful and unlawful) has been the catalyst for change for centuries. If everytime Ghandi or Dr. King protested they stopped to consider what laws they were breaking, then the change they sought may not have ever come about.
Again I state. Normally I do not square off with indiviuals with flawed logic. Again, most of what you retorted on is trivial and not worth noting. A law with farting in an elevator? Seriously George? That is a concern to you? Marriage against anyone outside your race? Doesn't appear to be an issue in our country, yet you whine about another countries law on the matter. Oh I assure you I understand alot better than you are giving me credit for. And you sir I stated that I condone protest that is peaceful and mature. I myself have done this. You compare Dr. King and Ghandi with the protest of the group there in Russia? Really? Well then sir it is I that must apologize for my misunderstanding. I pray our church that I go to will not send me to jail for eating peanuts. I love peanuts.
Cute name, wonder how many commrades in Russia knows what it means when pronounced in English?
pussy in Russian is synonym for girl/lass in US english but doubtful Russian populace is aware of the translation to US
Russia cracks down on all girl Pussy Riot Punk Rock Band. The only "Pussy" worth mentioning in this article is Putin. Another one of Hussein Zero's "pals," who he Bows Down to. Time to Take Out The Trash in Russia and Our White House!
Putin is very old-school, as is his church. Over time regimes like his and those in China, North Korea, the Vatican, the southeastern U.S., etc., will need to change or disappear. Of course, they won't do it without a lot of resistance, which means a lot of bloodshed. People like the members of Pussy Riot are real heroes.
The article mentions blasphemy and self-publicity as possible motives for the group that invaded a church. These may have been their motives. Certainly they have received hundreds of millions of dollars of publicity by their actions and can look forward to making lots of money when they are released.
We shouldn't encourage people to push their views at the expense of others who are trying to worship. Let them carry out their protests in some other venue. If they are given lienient sentences, the sentences should be conditioned on not repeating their activities in places of worship.
The article also mentions that Madonna and a group of celebrities are backing the group that invaded the church. Madonna is a fine role model! I remember an outrageous act she performed with a crucifix.
As for celebrities, many of them don't know where to draw the line on their outrageous and often immoral behavior either. I suspect that most of them don't support activists for political reasons - they do so to draw attention to themselves so they can stay in the public eye and make more money!
Dem Peebles. Hey, lookers these girls aren't, and the same goes for musicians, at least from the little we got of the sounds and lyrics before the Putana anti-free speech goons broke things up in that church. But what they lack in these two features, it's apparently even a worse for their smarts. The leaders of the ROC are in tight with Comrad Putin, who himself is ex KGB, with a long posting in the DDR. Can anyone say STASI here? Duh! They could have gotten almost as much international press coverage in more effective ways, and remained free to carry on their noble work against the resurgence of bonehead Mother Russia under Mr. Putin and his ilk. And who would be surprised if they all happen to die in prison, under mysterious circumstances. All pretty troubling events when they occur elsewhere. But constant brave and thorough surveillance is the rub here, to keep the US ship of state from moving in the Russian direction. Oye como va, gente. Aa.