Moscow court frees 1 of 3 Pussy Riot members

USATODAY

A Moscow appeals court has freed one member of the Russian band Pussy Riot but upheld the two-year prison sentences for the other two.

The three were convicted in August of "hooliganism" for staging a profanity-laden "punk prayer" at Moscow's main cathedral in February that accused the Orthodox Church and Russian leader Vladimir Putin of corruption.

The court ruled Wednesday that Yekaterina Samutsevich's sentence should be suspended because she was thrown out of the cathedral by guards before she could remove her guitar from its case and take part in the performance, the Associated Press reports.

In a statement, Samutsevich declared that while she did intend to perform a political act when entering the church. she had no intention of offending any religious beliefs, Russia Today reports.

Samutsevich, 30, and co-defendants Maria Alekhina, 24, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, spoke in court from inside a glass cage known colloquially as the "aquarium."

Lawyers for two other defendants expressed confusion over the verdict.

"We are happy that Samutsevich has been freed, but it would have been fair to set all the girls free," Interfax quotes defense attorney Mark Feigin as saying after the decision. "We will continue to fight this decision in the Supreme Court and using the authority of the European Court of Human Rights."

During the hearing, the judge frequently interrupted statements by the trio when the subject veered toward politics.

"Putin is doing everything for the development of civil war in this country," said Tolokonnikova at one point, raising her voice to try to drown out a judge who tried to interrupt her.

The case has sparked an international outcry, with Western governments and pop star Madonna, among other artists, condemning the sentences as out of proportion to their actions.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on Russian NTV television, Putin defended the original sentences.

"It's right that they were arrested. It's right that the court took that decision, because you can't undermine the foundations of morality, our moral values, destroy the country. What would we be left with then?" Putin said, according to the BBC.

An opinion poll conducted last month by the independent Levada center found 35% of Russians believe the two-year sentences were appropriate, while 34% said they were too lenient and only 14% said they were excessive, Reuters reports.



