Pussy Riot Members Nominated For Human Rights Prize

German MEP put forward the nomination

MOSCOW, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A German member of Europe's Parliament nominated three jailed members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot for a human rights activist prize, RIA Novosti reported.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich were sentenced to two years in prison Aug. 17 after being convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. Their "punk prayer" at a Moscow cathedral in February was part of a large protest movement existing at the time against Russian President Vladimir Putin's re-election.