Prize for Pussy Riot

Two members of the Russian punk band, Pussy Riot, have been honored for their political stance against the rule of the country's president, Vladimir Putin.

In 2012, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina (pictured above) were sentenced to compulsory labour in seperate prison camps for performing one of their songs on the main altar in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

The performance of their so-called "punk prayer" coincided with Vladimir Putin's successful campaign to return to the Russian presidency in the March 2012 election.

They were later convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and were handed two-year sentences due to expire in March 2014.

However, the case caused an international outcry and the two performance artists were released from jail early in December 2013 after the Russian parliament, the Duma, granted them an amnesty.

Campaigners for human rights recognized

The jury for the prize, based in the German city of Bremen, said in a statement that it wished to "honour all those who continue to resist reactionary developments in Russia despite persecution."

They were jointly awarded the prize with Ukrainian author Yuri Andrukhovych for his role in the former Soviet republic's democratic movement.

On making the 54-year-old the joint winner, the jury said it was to express its "respect for the campaigners for an independent and democratic Ukraine."

The prize, which is worth 10,000 euros, has been awarded annually since 1995 and is financed by the Bremen Senate and the Böll Foundation.

The award was created to commemorate the Jewish political scientist, Hannah Arendt, who was born in the German city of Hanover in the early 20th Century.

Previous winners include Germany's president, Joachim Gauck, and Russian human rights activist Yelena Bonner.

The Bremen Senate announced the winners on Thursday and a prize giving ceremony will be held on December 5 at Bremen City Hall.

lw/ksb (epd, KNA)