 Russian human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva called the judgment politically motivated and " not in line with the law , common sense or mercy " . Opposition activist Alexey Navalny described Pussy Riot as " fools who commit petty crimes for the sake of publicity " , but opposed the verdict , which he believed had been " written by Vladimir Putin " as " revenge " , for a stunt not socially dangerous enough to justify keeping the women behind bars . Russian fiction writer Boris Akunin attended the protests on the day of the conviction and said , " Putin has doomed himself to another year @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half of international shame and humiliation . " Irina Yarovaya , a parliamentary deputy of Putin 's United Russia party , praised the conviction , stating that " they deserved it " . On September 13 , 2012 , Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev called for the women 's early release , saying that the time they had already served awaiting trial was sufficient punishment , and further incarceration would be " counterproductive " . On November 2 , he said that he would not have sent the three Pussy Riot members to prison , reiterating that their pre @-@ trial detention was enough , but stressed that setting free the two remaining prisoners was a matter for the courts . 
