Pussy Riot sentenced to two years in jail

Appalled and saddened by the conviction of the three members of Pussy Riot to two years in jail, and mystified by the judge's statement that feminism creates religious hatred:

'The court does find a religious hatred motive in the actions of the defendants by way of them being feminists who consider men and women to be equal',

I decided to post some of the statements that the three members of the group have made in the last few days.

'Our anonymity and visual look aren't common for female bands. Even though we wear dresses we make 'unfeminine' movements. It's a multi level way of breaking with traditional feminine behaviour'. (Tyurya)

Pussy Riot 'is dissident art or political action that engages art forms'.

'We are representatives of our generation. It's important for me to understand whether the Church is growing along with society or whether it remains a conservative institution. In the search for an answer, I did not expect a repressive and inquisition-like reaction'. (Maria Alyokhina)

'Our imprisonment serves as a clear and unambiguous sign that freedom is being taken away from the entire country'. (Nadezhda Tolokonnikova)

'A lot of us couldn't sleep after this announcement (that Putin would return to the presidency). We felt such anger because of this rudeness, this arrogance towards citizens. So we decided, damn it, we need to do something'. (Tyurya)

'Art is politics. We could not imagine ourselves without one or the other. We don't understand how an artist can think about society but say he's apolitical'.

'Our goal was to bring attention to Father Kirill's public statements that the Orthodox must vote for Putin. I thought the Church loved its children. It turns out that the Church only loves those children who believe in Putin'. (Alyokhina)

Sources and photos: The Guardian
                                  BBC news