COURT CASES: Feminist band Pussy Riot found guilty over Putin protest

Three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been found guilty of hooliganism and inciting religious hatred after storming a cathedral in a protest against Vladimir Putin. Sentencing has yet to take place.

Judge Marina Syrova found the band guilty on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred on Friday.

Syrova said the three band members had "carefully planned" their action and that they had "crudely undermined the social order."

Sentencing was expected to take place later on Friday. Prosecutors have demanded that the band members serve three years in a corrective labor facility.

Hundreds outside the court shouted "Freedom!" and "Russia without Putin" and police detained several protesters. Ahead of the verdict, security officials had put up barriers on streets around Moscow's Khamovichesky court where the case was being heard.

The band performed the song "Punk Prayer," wearing their trademark knitted balaclava and short skirts inside Moscow's biggest cathedral, Christ the Savior, in February. In the chorus, they called for the Virgin Mary to "drive out Putin."

The defendants - who have been held in pre-trial detention for the past five months - are 23-year-old Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29.

Furious, but not bitter

They have said the protest was made to express resentment over Russian Orthodox Church support for Putin's rule. Prosecutors say there are no political motives.

In a letter posted by her lawyer on the eve of the verdict, band member Tolokonnikova said she was "politically furious" about her detention, but "not bitter."

"Our imprisonment serves as a clear and unambiguous sign that freedom is being taken away from the entire country," said Tolokonnikova.

Putin's opponents say the trial is part of a wider agenda by the president, a former secret service agent, to stifle protest against his administration.

The case was heard in the same week Putin marked the first 100 days of his third term as president. In that time, he has introduced restrictions on protests and political NGOs with foreign sources of income.

The US State Department recently incurred Moscow's anger by expressing formal concern about the "politically motivated prosecution of the Russian opposition."

Release rallies in support of the band have taken place across the world with celebrities including ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and pop icon Madonna adding their voices to the group's supporters.

Source: DW (17/08/2012): http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16174157,00.html