The Russian government has been ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to compensate controversial punk rock group Pussy Riot for their infamous arrest back in 2012.

Back in 2012, Pussy Riot made international headlines after they were arrested and subsequently imprisoned after they performed their ‘Punk Prayer’ in Russia’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral in opposition of the Orthodox Church leaders’ support of President Vladimir Putin.

Footage of the group’s arrest went viral, and the members were initially sentenced to two years in jail after being accused of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”.

The group’s imprisonment even caused then-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to comment on the matter, noting that “the sentence for these young women, we believe is disproportionate and that view has already been conveyed to the Russian government.”

While one of the members of Pussy Riot were released from prison just two months after their sentence was handed down, others remained imprisoned, and the nature of their arrest and sentencing remained a talking point for musical and political commentators.

Now, as Reuters reports, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Russia’s actions, noting that their response to the group’s protest was “exceptionally severe”.

While the court conceded that “a reaction to breaching the rules of conduct in a place of religious worship might have been warranted,” it noted Russia’s response was uncharacteristically severe for such a protest.

“However, it found that sentencing them to imprisonment for simply having worn brightly colored clothes, waved their arms and kicked their legs around and used strong language, without analyzing the lyrics of their song or the context of their performance, had been exceptionally severe.”

The European Court of Human Rights also handed down an order for Russia to pay €48,760 (AUD$76,581) in damages and judicial expenses, though Russia’s Justice Ministry reportedly noted that they have three months to decide if they plan to appeal this ruling.

This news of course comes only a matter of days after members of Pussy Riot were again jailed (this time for 15 days), after an on-field protest at the World Cup final in Russia.

Following the world cup protest, Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the demonstration via social media. In a statement released on Twitter the band produced a list of demands from the Russian Government. These included:

  1. Let all political prisoners free
  2. Not imprison for “likes”.
  3. Stop Illegal arrests on rallies.
  4. Allow political competition in the country
  5. Not fabricate criminal accusations and not keep people in jails for no reason.
  6. Turn the earthly policeman into the heavenly policeman.

Check out Pussy Riot’s controversial ‘Punk Prayer’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grEBLskpDWQ

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