Pussy Riot Member Freed From Russian Jail

A member of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot has been freed from jail by a Moscow court.

Yekaterina Samutsevich's two-year sentence for hooliganism driven by religious hatred and offending religious believers was suspended following an appeal.

But a judge upheld the two-year jail sentences handed down to two other members of the punk band for a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a cathedral.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and 30-year-old Samutsevich, who were convicted in August, argued in court that their impromptu performance of a "punk prayer" near the altar of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February was political in nature and not an attack on religion.

The judge ruled Samutsevich's sentence should be suspended because she was thrown out of the cathedral by guards before she could take part in the performance.

In emotional statements, the women from the band said they had not meant to upset the faithful with their actions, but criticised the Kremlin chief.

"We did not want to offend believers," Alyokhina told the court. "We came to the cathedral to speak out against the merger between spiritual figures and the political elite of our country."

The case sparked an international outcry, with Western governments and celebrities condemning the case and the jail terms as disproportionate.

In an interview aired on Sunday, Mr Putin defended the sentences.

He said: "It is right that they were arrested and it was right that the court took this decision because you cannot undermine the fundamental morals and values to destroy the country."