Pussy Riot members Natalia Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich have been convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Audiences worldwide have zeroed in on the Punk Rock collective members’ highly controversial arrest and detention. The controversy surrounding the Pussy Riot trial centers on the competing interests of free speech and religious sanctity.

Photo: popular TV host and journalist Leonid Parfenov and writer Boris Akunin (left to right) supporting Pussy Riot

Outside the courthouse, activists are chanting slogans in support of Pussy Riot.

Pussy Riot members Natalia Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich (photo: right to left). After the verdict was announced, a single cry of "Shame!" echoed through the courtroom. The sentence includes time already served.

Famed lawyer, blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny (photo) Alexei Navalny is at the court building. He is outraged and calling for protests. He was not satisfied with the cathedral punk prayer, but he's even less satisfied with the sentence that's been handed down.

The aggrieved parties and their attorneys refused to comment as they exited the courtroom surrounded by a thick ring of bailiffs.

Photo: an Orthodox priest outside the courthouse.