Members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced on two years each in prison today. The three members of the band: Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 were found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

Judge said in explanation that the actions of the women had “crudely undermined social order”. On sentencing, she said that the women are sane and should be punished in accordance with the law. Prosecutors had requested a sentence of three years in the event of a guilty verdict. However, judge listed attenuating circumstances, such as a lack of previous crime, positive character profiles and the fact that two of the women have children. They have already been detained for five months. The court concluded that it is not possible to change the charges and make them less grave.

Large numbers of their supporters, as well as their opponents, had assembled outside the court building. Earlier today, Russian opposition leader Sergey Udaltsov was detained by police as he approached the police cordon and attempted to enter the court building. Famous Russian chess player Gary Kasparov is also believed to have been arrested.

The conviction for Pussy Riot’s members comes after an incident in February this year when they staged ‘guerrilla’ masked performance at Moscow’s Christ The Saviour Cathedral, protesting against the Orthodox Christian church’s support of Vladimir Putin’s candidacy for a president.