<p>A state prosecutor demanded a three-year jail sentence for three women from the punk band Pussy Riot who stormed the altar of Moscow's main cathedral and sang a "punk prayer" denouncing Vladimir Putin's close links to the Russian Orthodox Church.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The three had been charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred in a trial that has focused attention on a crackdown on dissent since Putin's return to the presidency in May.<br /><br />Prosecutor Alexei Nikiforov did not press the court for the maximum seven-year sentence after Putin said Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, should not be judged too harshly.<br /><br />But Nikiforov ignored pleas by the opposition and human rights groups not to seek jail terms over the protest in which the trio belted out a song on February 21 urging the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin.<br /><br />"The actions of the accomplices clearly show religious hatred and enmity," Nikiforov said in closing arguments at the trial. "Using swear words in a church is an abuse of God."<br />"There was real mockery and humiliation directed at the people in the church."<br /><br />The band's stunt infuriated church leaders and the Kremlin and upset many Orthodox Christian believers for whom the Christ the Saviour Cathedral is a sacred place of worship and its pulpit a place reserved exclusively for priests.<br /><br />Russian opposition leaders say the trial is part of a wider crackdown on dissent by Putin after the biggest protests since he rose to power in 2000.<br /><br />The case has caused an outcry abroad and international musicians including Madonna, Sting and Red Hot Chili Peppers have appealed for leniency.<br /></p>
<p>A state prosecutor demanded a three-year jail sentence for three women from the punk band Pussy Riot who stormed the altar of Moscow's main cathedral and sang a "punk prayer" denouncing Vladimir Putin's close links to the Russian Orthodox Church.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The three had been charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred in a trial that has focused attention on a crackdown on dissent since Putin's return to the presidency in May.<br /><br />Prosecutor Alexei Nikiforov did not press the court for the maximum seven-year sentence after Putin said Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, should not be judged too harshly.<br /><br />But Nikiforov ignored pleas by the opposition and human rights groups not to seek jail terms over the protest in which the trio belted out a song on February 21 urging the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin.<br /><br />"The actions of the accomplices clearly show religious hatred and enmity," Nikiforov said in closing arguments at the trial. "Using swear words in a church is an abuse of God."<br />"There was real mockery and humiliation directed at the people in the church."<br /><br />The band's stunt infuriated church leaders and the Kremlin and upset many Orthodox Christian believers for whom the Christ the Saviour Cathedral is a sacred place of worship and its pulpit a place reserved exclusively for priests.<br /><br />Russian opposition leaders say the trial is part of a wider crackdown on dissent by Putin after the biggest protests since he rose to power in 2000.<br /><br />The case has caused an outcry abroad and international musicians including Madonna, Sting and Red Hot Chili Peppers have appealed for leniency.<br /></p>