The Russian, female punk rock band Pussy Riot have been found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentenced to two years in jail on Friday, for protesting President Vladimir Putin inside a Moscow church.

According to Reuters, Judge Marina Syrova spent three hours reading the verdict inside a Moscow court while the women stood watching inside a glass courtroom cage. Syrova said, "The girls' actions were sacrilegious, blasphemous and broke the church's rules."

Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, remained calm and kept smiling after the judge announced the two-year sentence, according to NBC News. The women were facing a maximum of seven years.

NBC News:

The judge recounted testimony of prosecution witnesses accusing them of sacrilege and "devilish dances'' in church.

Tolokonnikova laughed out loud when the judge read the testimony of a psychologist who said that her "active stance on social issues'' was an anomaly in the country.

State prosecutors had requested a three-year jail term.

Pussy Riot supporters chanted "Shame" outside the courthouse and said the case was an example of Putin's refusal to tolerate dissent.

Many supporters and opposition activists blamed the case and prison sentence on Putin. The Guardian reports that hundreds of Pussy Riot supporters "filled a narrow street outside the court where the verdict was delivered, chanting 'Russia without Putin!' amid a heavy police presence."

"Whatever Putin wants, Putin gets. That is the only thing to say," said Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, on leaving the court.

"We're trying to remain peaceful," said Maya Trapeznikova. "But many are reaching their limits and waiting for the order to fight."

The Guardian:

Russian police have rounded up pro-Pussy Riot protesters, including the former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and leftist opposition group leader Sergei Udaltsov after one of the most closely watched court cases in recent Russian history.

The case has attracted international attention as an emblem of Russia's intolerance of dissent. It also underlines the vast influence of the Russian Orthodox church. Although church and state are formally separate, the church sees itself as the heart of Russian national identity and critics say its strength effectively makes it a quasi-state entity.

An opinion pole of Russians released Friday by Levada, an independent research group, showed only 6 percent had sympathy for the women, 51 percent said they found nothing good about them or felt irritation or hostility, and the rest were unable to say or were indifferent, according to Reuters. 

In addition to Pussy Riot supporters, some nationalists and religious believers were outside the courthouse demanding a tough sentence. 

"Evil must be punished," said Maria Butilno, 60, who held an icon and said Pussy Riot had insulted the faithful.

However, the three educated, middle-class Russian women said their intention was not to offend believers, but to take a stand against the Russian Orthodox Church's support for Putin, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The band was arrested in March after performing in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral without permission. The band was wearing bright ski masks calling for the Virgin Mary to protect Russia against Putin, who was elected to a new term as Russia's president two weeks later. 

"Our imprisonment is a clear and distinct sign that the whole country's freedom is being taken away," said band member Tolokonnikova, in a letter written in jail and posted on the Internet by her lawyer, according to NBC News.

Before Friday's proceedings, defense lawyer Nikolai Polozov said the band was hoping "for an acquittal but they are ready to continue to fight." 

Putin has said that he does not agree with the actions of Pussy Riot but hoped the sentence was "not too severe." Yet, the case has come after several laws were passed to crack down on opposition, including one that raises the fine for taking part in unauthorized demonstrations 150-fold to roughly $7,300 US dollars, according to The Guardian. Another measure also requires non-government organizations that engage in vaguely defined political activity and receive funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents."

Michelle Ringuette, chief of campaigns and programs for Amnesty International in the United States, said, "The decision to find guilty Maria, Ekaterina and Nadezhda amid global outrage shows that the Russian authorities will stop at no end to suppress dissent and stifle civil society."

The Los Angeles Times also reports that many musicians have voiced their support for the band with artists like Madonna, Bjork, Paul McCartney and Sting speaking out.

Punk guitarist and Wild Flag/Sleater-Kinney principal Carrie Brownstein tweeted shortly after the verdict, "Shameful, unjust verdict. Yet it's a reminder to be fearless, unabashed participants. Sending solidarity."

Protests have sprouted up across the U.S., Canada and in Russia over Pussy Riot's sentencing. In Los Angeles, NBC News reported that a protest in Hollywood, followed by a march to Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, was scheduled just hours after the band's two-year prison term was announced.

For more of Neon Tommy's coverage on Pussy Riot, click here.

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