Supporters of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot rallied in Chicago on Saturday to protest against the band members' prison sentences.
"These women are complete badasses," one protester said into a microphone, wearing the band's iconic colorful balaclavas.
A Moscow judge has ruled that Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 “crudely undermined the social order” when they stormed the altar of Russian’s largest cathedral and performed a “punk prayer” beseeching the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of President Vladimir Putin. The head of the Russian orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, has called Putin a "miracle from God."
The Pussy Riot members were arrested during their anti-Putin stunt and charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. The three women have been sentenced to two years in a corrective labor colony, but the remaining members have vowed to continue protesting against Putin.
Russia has faced an international backlash for the trial.
"From the initial unjustified arrest, to the questionable trial, to this outrageous verdict and sentencing, each step in the case has been an affront to human rights," said Michelle Ringuette, chief of campaigns and programs for Amnesty International USA. "It's a bitter blow to freedom in Russia. Amnesty International will not allow these women to be silenced. They will not be forgotten."
Watch video, courtesy of independent YouTube reporter John Sheehan, below:
