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Pussy Riot representatives jailed 15 days for interrupting World Cup final

Ian MacNicol / Getty Images Sport / Getty

A Moscow court jailed the four people who ran onto the pitch during Sunday's World Cup final for 15 days on Monday.

The Twitter account of the politically charged Russian punk band Pussy Riot also claims representatives Veronika Nikulshina, Olga Pakhtusova, and Pyotr Verzilov received three-year bans from attending sporting events. The group did not specify whether the final member, Olga Kurachova, was handed a similar ban, but Reuters understands she faces the same injunction.

Nikulshina was seen exuberantly exchanging a high five with Kylian Mbappe before being removed from the pitch as France beat Croatia 4-2 in front of Russia president Vladimir Putin and numerous other high-ranking officials in attendance. During her court hearing, Nikulshina was also pictured smiling by Reuters.

(Photo courtesy: @pussyrrriot)

BBC News believes Verzilov, the only male among the four, is the husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who was among the Pussy Riot members infamously jailed for an outdoor performance protesting Putin's regime in 2012.

"It is a pity that we disrupted the sportsmen," Kurachova told reporters on Monday, as quoted by Reuters.

"FIFA is involved in unfair games unfortunately. FIFA is a friend of heads of states who carry out repression, which violate human rights."

Verzilov added that the act was meant to show how "the state, in the form of the police, intrudes into people's lives."

The quartet ran onto the field in what appeared to be traditional police uniforms after Danijel Subasic saved Mbappe's 52nd-minute effort on goal. Pussy Riot has said its reasons for intruding were to protest the illegal imprisonment of political activists or those who participate in rallies; punishments for those who express opinion on social media and encourage political debate; and the fabrication of misdemeanours to keep people behind bars.

The tweet released yesterday explaining Pussy Riot's actions is below:

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