Yekaterina Samutsevich is seen here being escorted into courtRussian prosecutors have asked for three years’ in prison for three women musicians accused of inciting religious hatred during a protest in a cathedral.
The three members of the punk band Pussy Riot played a song attacking Russian leader Vladimir Putin in front of an altar on 21 February.
They told the court their performance was a political act, not aimed at hurting the feelings of believers.
Supporters of the women have condemned the case as disproportionate.
Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, could have faced a maximum sentence of seven years.
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They sought to justify their performance of the “punk prayer” by saying it was a reaction to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, publicly backing Mr Putin in elections.
Last week, Mr Putin, who was re-elected president in March, called for leniency towards the women during a visit to London for the Olympic Games.
There are fears among Russian opposition activists that the trial is part of a crackdown on dissent since Mr Putin’s return to the Kremlin, following the biggest anti-government protests in modern Russian history.
‘Abuse of God’
“The actions of the accomplices clearly show religious hatred and enmity,” state prosecutor Alexei Nikiforov said in closing arguments.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has said the act amounted to blasphemy.
“Using swear words in a church is an abuse of God.”
He said the women had “set themselves up against the Orthodox Christian world”.
Given the “severity” of the crime, he argued, the “requisite punishment must be a real deprivation of freedom”.
The appearance of Pussy Riot inside Christ the Saviour Cathedral and the ensuing chaotic scenes were captured on video.
Wearing their trademark coloured balaclavas, the women danced and sang a song which parodies a Christian prayer, imploring the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Mr Putin.
The song, which has an obscene chorus, also appears to mock Patriarch Kirill himself.
The prosecution of the women, who have been on remand for five months and two of whom have small children, has caused concern both within Russia and abroad.
International musicians including Sting and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have appealed for leniency.
“Dissent is a legitimate and essential right in any democracy and modern politicians must accept this fact with tolerance,” Sting said in a statement carried by Amnesty International last month.
“A sense of proportion – and a sense of humour – is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. Surely the Russian authorities will completely drop these spurious charges and allow the women, these artists, to get back to their lives and to their children?”
However, feelings about the case within Russian society, where the Orthodox Church has enjoyed a revival since the collapse of the atheistic USSR, have been mixed.
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