Moscow church protest trial opens

A feminist punk rock group who staged a protest against Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s main cathedral went on trial today accused of hooliganism, facing up to seven years in prison.

The Pussy Riot band – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 – have been in custody for five months since their February stunt. Their prosecution has caused a sharp public divide and drawn protests from rights groups who have declared them prisoners of conscience.