MOSCOW, July 24 — A Moscow court jailed two young women, members of a group promising to bring ''happiness through suffering,'' for between six and eight years on Wednesday for their part in the organisation's violent activities.
Russian news agencies reported that the court found the two guilty of organising an illegal armed group and the illegal imprisonment and systematic torture of five youngsters.
Russian television pictures showed boys in the courtroom displaying their severely beaten buttocks.
RTR state television said the group PORTOS -- the Poeticised Association for the Development of a Theory of Public Happiness -- had promised a good education to children from poor families.
The children were then made to work 16 hours a day and beaten for any transgressions.
''I thought the organisation would help me get into higher education,'' Dmitry Lukyanov told RTR.
Irina Derguzova was sentenced to eight years in jail and Tatyana Lomakin to six. The women's lawyers said they intended to appeal the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The two young women were shown standing in a cage in the courtroom, as is common in Russian courts.
News reports said that during an investigation into the group's activities, police found more than 10 air guns and hunting rifles on property used by PORTOS.