Russian feminist punks Pussy Riot were found guilty of hooliganism in a Moscow courtroom this morning.
The trio (Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich) have been incarcerated for the last five months after staging an impromptu protest concert at Moscow’s main Russian Orthodox cathedral. In issuing her verdict, Judge Marina Syrova ruled that the three had “crudely undermined social order” by storming the cathedral and playing a song that called for the ohurch to renounce its support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pussy Riot has earned a vast amount of support for their cause over the last five months, with everyone from Anti-Flag to Madonna to Paul McCartney lending their support. In one of the more random tuns-of-events, legendary chess player Garry Kasparov was arrested outside the courtroom where the verdict was being handed down. Photos and story here.
No word on a sentence yet, though prosecutors in the case were calling for the trio to serve three years in prison. We’ll keep you posted. In the mean time, read more about it here.