Russian judges defend ruling in Pussy Riot trial

By Nataliya Vasilyeva
Published October 11, 2012 4:00am ET
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Russian judges defend ruling in Pussy Riot trial
A policeman watches band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova speaking on a TV screen in a hall outside a court room of the Moscow City Court where three members of the punk band Pussy Riot are set to make their case before a Russian appeals court that they should not be imprisoned, in Moscow, Wednesday. Oct. 10, 2012. Their impromptu performance inside Moscow's main cathedral in February came shortly before Putin was elected to a third term. The three women were convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentenced to two years in prison. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev) | Sergey Ponomarev

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian judges who ruled to keep two of the three Pussy Riot band members behind bars took the unusual step of publicly defending their decision, saying Thursday that it was made independently and without pressure.

A panel of three judges at the Moscow City Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling to send Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina to prison for two years, but they released Yekaterina Samutsevich after giving her a suspended sentence.

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