Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev showed sympathy for the three imprisoned members of the punk group Pussy Riot at regional meeting for the United Russian party on Wednesday, reported The Wall Street Journal.

At the meeting, Medvedev stated that the women’s two-year sentences were excessive and that they should be set free.

“The term is very strong. I would even say a terrible burden,” said Medvedev.  “I don’t want to replace the judge…but the time they have already served is, in essence, more than enough to make them think about what happened, whether it was from their own stupidity or for other reasons.”

Although Medvedev said he was “sickened” by what the women had done, he admitted that, “Prolonging their time in prison in connection to this case seems unproductive.”

The three imprisoned members of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22; Maria Alyokhina, 24; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, were convicted of hooliganism last month after they dressed in Technicolor tube dresses and balaclava masks and performed a “punk prayer” that railed against President Vladimir Putin inside Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral.  The women have been held in jail since their arrests in March.

The eight-day trial leading to the women’s convictions is believed by many to be politically-motivated, illustrating a warning to dissidents against Putin, who described the women’s protest as “obscene.”

The women have already appealed their convictions and have attracted worldwide media attention, gaining support from musicians such as Madonna, Green Day, the Read Hot Chili Peppers and Paul McCartney.