Two years in a penal colony for “hooliganism”. Here’s the New York Times’ coverage of the original event.
I can understand Alex Epstein’s point about the nature of the crime, but as far as I can tell no one has suggested that the women entered the church illegally. Branding the crime “hooliganism” seems like an obvious smokescreen for establishment of religion. Nearly everything the court or government officials have had to say about Pussy Riot’s performance has revolved around disrespect to the Orthodox Church, blasphemy, or “inciting hate”:
The stiff punishment was handed down by a Moscow judge, Marina Syrova, who described the women as posing a danger to society and said they had committed “grave crimes” including “the insult and humiliation of the Christian faith and inciting religious hatred.”
Either way, the punishment seems egregious.
Via The XX Factor