Russia defends treatment of Pussy Riot in Sochi

Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak defended brutal police treatment of protest group Pussy Riot in Sochi, insisting at a media briefing today that they had provoked a conflict.

Band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who served prison sentences after performing a protest song against Russia president Vladimir Putin in a church, were among five band members and a cameraman attacked by Cossacks as they performed under a sign advertising the Games on Wednesday.