Pussy Riot Members Get 15 Days in Jail for World Cup Final Pitch Invasion
The four Pussy Riot protestors who invaded the pitch during the World Cup final in Moscow have been sentenced to 15 days in jail, the BBC reports. They have also been banned from attending sports events for three years.
Members of the Russian protest group stormed onto the pitch wearing police uniforms during the final between France and Croatia. Earlier reports had stated that the two offenses (violating spectators’ rights at sporting events and illegally wearing police uniforms) carry maximum fines of 10,000 roubles (approximately $160) and 1,500 roubles (approximately $24) respectively.
However, on Monday a Moscow district court ruling sentenced them to jail time after finding the group guilty of violating the law on the behavior of sports event spectators.
Pussy Riot confirmed the sentences on Twitter:
According to the group's original statement (below), the interruption called for the Russian government free all political prisoners, stop illegal arrests at public rallies, allow political competition in Russia, and stop fabricating criminal cases and jailing of people for no reason, among other things.
Prior to the ruling, Pussy Riot claimed the four members had been charged with "administrative offenses," with each member said to have spent the night at the police station. Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalny shared a video showing two pitch invaders being interrogated.
To see the pitch invasion, including Croatia defender Dejan Lovren's takedown of one of the protesters, check out the video below.
In other news, France's Kylian Mbappé is donating his World Cup earnings to charity.