DST News: A Moscow court on Monday designated the anti Kremlin feminist punk band Pussy Riot as an extremist organization, effectively banning its activities inside Russia, according to the city’s court service.

The ruling followed a request from the General Prosecutor’s Office and comes months after several members of the group were sentenced in absentia to lengthy prison terms for spreading what authorities described as false information about the Russian army.

Pussy Riot members, many of whom live outside Russia and have been labelled foreign agents, have rejected the charges as politically motivated.

The group rose to international attention in 2012 after members were jailed for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin inside a Moscow cathedral. Since then, Pussy Riot has remained a prominent symbol of opposition to the Kremlin and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, who is currently in the United States and wanted by Russian authorities, has dismissed the extremist designation.

Source: Reuters