Pussy Riot Band Found Guilty Of Hooliganism

Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been convicted of hooliganism over an anti-Putin demonstration in a church.

Vladimir Putin's opponents said the trial in Moscow was part of a wider crackdown by him to crush their protest movement.

And stars including Madonna, Sir Paul McCartney and Bjork had called for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24 and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, to be released.

The three defendants, two of whom have young children, were found guilty of hooliganism connected to religious hatred, and prosecutors want them jailed for three years.

In February, the balaclava-wearing trio had stormed the capital's main cathedral and performed a "punk prayer" at the altar, asking the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of the then prime minister Mr Putin.

At the time, he was on the verge of winning a new term as Russian president.

The women, who had spent the past few months behind bars awaiting their trial, said they were protesting against the close ties between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.

The trial in a small Moscow courtroom has divided Russia's Orthodox Christians, with many backing the authorities' demands for severe punishment, but others saying the women should be granted clemency.

In a sign of the tension over the trial, Judge Marina Syrova was assigned bodyguards on Thursday following what authorities said were threats.

Mr Putin, who returned to the presidency this year, has said the women's punishment should not be too harsh.

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