Two members of the punk band Pussy Riot might be spared from their guilty verdicts, after the Russian Supreme Court reconsidered the original ruling this week.
The Russian high court reviewed Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's appeal, then ordered the lower court in Moscow that jailed them in August of last year to take another look at the guilty verdicts, the Agence France Presse reported.
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova are currently serving the final three months of their two-year sentences in Russian penal colonies. They were found guilty of hooliganism brought on by religious hatred earlier this year.
Their punk rock band Pussy Riot reportedly performed a protest against the Russian Government at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
The Supreme Court announced that the women's "hatred" for the state wasn't ever shown, and that no mention of their young children were ever factored into the ruling.
"The court did not provide any proof that Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were motivated by hatred toward any social group in its verdict," the Supreme Court wrote on the homepage of its website, adding that the courts didn't consider "extenuating circumstances," including the fact that Alyokhina had a 6-year-old son, and Tolokonnikova had a daughter, age 5.
The Russian parliament must approve the appeal submitted by the Supreme Court. The Duma lower house will reportedly vote next Tuesday, AFP reported.
24-year-old Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina, 25, were arrested with a third band member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, after performing a "punk prayer" on Feb. 17 last year. The "prayer" was a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin's campaign for another term in office.
