SUPPORTERS of punk group Pussy Riot have clashed with security guards in global protests before a Russian court rules on whether its members will be sent to prison.

In Brazil, topless protesters carried placards that read ``Freedom for Pussy Riot'' outside the Russian consulate in Sao Paulo.



The women, who were dragged kicking and screaming from the consulate by security staff, joined the wave of support for the three women who have been in jail for more than five months because of an anti-Putin prank in Moscow's main cathedral.





media_camera Pussy Riot protesters in Brazil wave placards outside the Russian consulate.

The three women on trial, Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich, have already spent nearly six months in pre-trial detention for their 30-second performance in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral.



The YouTube video was later dubbed over with the lyrics "Virgin Mary, chase Putin out.''



Although the band members and their lawyers are convinced that the verdict depends entirely on the will of President Vladimir Putin, and prosecutors have asked for a three-year sentence, activists hope their pressure will ease punishment or even free the women, the Associated Press reported.



media_camera A Pussy Riot fan is dragged from the Russian consulate in Sao Paulo.

In Moscow, masked supporters of the band scuffled with security guards outside the Moscow cathedral where the stunt took place.



Witnesses said 18 activists in colourful balaclavas - like those worn by the band - mounted the steps of the cathedral and held up cards spelling out the phrase 'Blessed are the merciful'.



Critics of the Kremlin see their trial as part of a crackdown on dissent as Mr Putin begins a new six-year term, the Associated Press reported.

media_camera Pussy Riot protesters in Brazil are bundled into a van outside the Russian consulate in Sao Paulo.





Originally published as Pussy Riot protesters out in force