Update: Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism

Three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot who staged a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a landmark church have been found guilty in a Moscow court.

Sitting together inside a glass-walled cage Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, smiled as the verdict was read out.

Judge Marina Syrova said the three band members had 'carefully planned' their February 21 action inside the Christ the Saviour Cathedral and that they 'expressed no repentance' and 'offended the feelings of believers.'

The trio face a maximum seven years in prison when they are sentenced later today.

The prosecution are seeking three years of corrective labour.

The three women - two of who have children - have said they were protesting against close ties between Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers.

It was a heated scene outside the Moscow court and about 20 people were arrested during the judgement including former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now an opposition political figure.

Protests in support of the group took place today in cities around the world.

A long list of international celebrities have backed their cause, including ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland today expressed his profound disappointment at the verdict delivered by Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court against the Pussy Riot group (Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samusevich).

"Today three young women were condemned to a prison term of two years away from their children. Many would argue that the Pussy Riot group should have chosen a more appropriate place in which to express their opinions. Of course, freedom of expression, which includes the right to express dissenting political opinions, also requires that the right will be exercised responsibly. However, the sentence against the Pussy Riot group, as well as the length and conditions of their pre-trial detention seem harsh in relation to the nature of the offence committed in a secular state, member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights," Mr Jagland insisted.