Three Russian women are currently in jail, awaiting trial on charges of hooliganism, after they allegedly held an impromptu anti-government punk show in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The Russian Orthodox Church is so unhappy with this “blasphemy” that its priests have collected signatures from their congregations to pressure the judiciary into handing the women severe sentences. Our Observer, an Orthodox priest, thinks this is a bad idea.

Pussy Riot, as it calls itself, is a mysterious group of women – they all wear vividly coloured ski masks to hide their faces. Formed in August 2011, they rose to fame after singing a song with the refrain “[Vladimir] Putin is a sissy” in Moscow’s Red Square in January. They were promptly fined.

Their latest stunt has had graver consequences. On February 19, the women burst into Moscow’s cathedral and started jumping up and down, singing “Holy Mother, chase Putin out!” Their song also included allegations that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church had ties to the former KGB. They called their performance “a punk prayer.”

On March 3, two women – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Marina Alyokhina – were arrested on hooliganism charges over the cathedral incident. A third woman, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was arrested on March 16. All three have denied they are members of Pussy Riot or that they took part in the performance. They are now in jail, awaiting their trial in April.

Russians are bitterly divided by the case. Many members of Russia’s opposition parties have asked for the women to be released, arguing that two of them have young children to take care of. Rallies in their honour have been held in cities around Russia, and over 6,000 people, including several orthodox priests, have signed a petition asking for their release.