Russia jails three women over twerking video at WW2 memorial

A Russian court has jailed three women for performing a twerking dance in front of a World War Two memorial.

The court in Novorossiysk gave two of the dancers 10 days in jail each, a third 15 days and two others received fines on charges of petty hooliganism.

Prosecutors had said their "erotic and sexual twerk dance" was disrespectful to historic memory and unacceptable.

Earlier this month, Russian officials closed a dance school after a similar dance video emerged on the internet.

The latest incident involves six dancers - one of them a minor who was not convicted - who had posted a video on YouTube.

"This incident of disrespect for the memory of war history is unacceptable and any attempts to desecrate sites of military glory will be stopped immediately," prosecutors said.

The sentences come as Russia prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the World War Two victory.

They also follow the incident early in April when a video clip from the Orenburg dance school on YouTube was viewed millions of times.

The video clip, entitled Winnie the Pooh and the Bees, showed a group of teenage girls dancing on stage in striped leotards, long socks and mini-skirts,

They perform hip-thrusting moves characteristic of twerking.

A committee is investigating whether the performance amounts to negligence or even "debauched action", which is punishable by a range of sanctions from community service to three years behind bars.