Russian Punk Rock Band Pussy Riot was found guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" by a Russian Court, according to a report from The Guardian UK.
Three members of the 10 women band were arrested last February after performing a "Punk Prayer" inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The activist band was formed in 2011 following then-Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir's Putin's announcement that he would seek a third term as president. They chose the church because of its support for Putin.
On July 30 the three young women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, all pleaded not guilty to the charges, but did apologize for their "ethical mistake."
Viewed as a test of freedom of speech in Russia, the case has drawn worldwide attention but has also energized Russian activists like former world Chess Champion Gary Kasparov.
Kasparov has been posting regularly about the case on his Facebook page and has been somewhat critical of what he called "western hypocrisy:" "Putin and his criminal regime are a Russian problem for Russians to solve, but western hypocrisy about human rights gets tiresome when they could take serious measures instead of just talking."
The former chess champ arrived at the courthouse earlier today, along with hundreds of protesters, to hear the verdict. He was, as his Facebook page has confirmed, arrested outside the Moscow courthouse. A Facebook photos shows him being shoved into a police van.
Support for the band continues to pour in on Twitter. Paul McCartney posted a message that appears to have been written before the verdict:
Paul sends his support to Russian band Pussy Riot. (Click the image to read Paul's message.) #PussyRiot twitter.com/PaulMcCartney/…— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) August 16, 2012
Amnesty International stood outside the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to protest:
At Russian Embassy in Wash, DC protesting outrageous #PussyRiot verdict twitter.com/amnesty/status…— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) August 17, 2012
As this report was being written, the Moscow judge was still reading the summation of the case and had yet to announce sentencing. We'll update the post when we have more details.
Have you been following the Pussy Riot case? Share your thoughts in the comments.
[via: The Guardian]