TOO BAD: Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism

Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been jailed for two years after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral. Judge Marina Syrova convicted the women of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, saying they had "crudely undermined social order". The women say the protest, in February, was directed at the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support for Mr Putin. The US, UK and EU all criticised the sentences as "disproportionate". Prosecutors had been seeking a three-year jail sentence for the women. Judge Syrova said Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, had offended the feelings of Orthodox believers and shown a "complete lack of respect". "Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and Samutsevich committed hooliganism - in other words, a grave violation of public order," she said. Worldwide protests Along with other members of their band, the women staged a flashmob-style performance of their song close to the altar in the cathedral on 21 February. Mr Putin was elected for a third term as president two weeks later. Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich, watching Friday's proceedings from inside a glass-walled cage in the courtroom, smiled as the widely predicted conviction was announced. The judge then took three hours to read the verdict, before handing down "two years deprivation of liberty in a penal colony" for each defendant. "Considering the nature and degree of the danger posed by what was done, the defendants' correction is possible only through an actual punishment," she said. One man in the courtroom shouted "shame" at the sentencing, and there were chants and whistles from the band's supporters outside. Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, said: "Russia's image was quite scary even before [this]. What happened now is a clear sign that Russia is moving towards becoming more like China or North Korea." Opposition leader Alexei Navalny added: "They are in jail because it is Putin's personal revenge. This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin." The defendants' lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, said they would not appeal to President Putin for a pardon. However, there will be a legal appeal against the verdict.