Protesters Demand Release of Russian Punks Pussy Riot

Supporters of the all-female punk group Pussy Riot picketed the headquarters of the Moscow police on Thursday as two alleged band members remain in custody over a protest at the Russian capital's largest cathedral. Activists holding banners reading "Freedom" said they plan to picket the building on downtown Petrovka street all day, radio station Ekho Moskvy reported. Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were arrested on Sunday following Pussy Riot's performance of what they called a "punk prayer" at the altar of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral last month. The two women were remanded in custody on Monday until April 24 and could face up to seven years in jail on hooliganism charges. Both deny any involvement and have launched a hunger strike. President-elect Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described the protest as "unpleasant for all believers." "I hope it will not be repeated," he said. The group said the act was a protest against public support for Putin by the powerful Orthodox Church’s head, Patriarch Kirill, who took up residence in the Kremlin last year. Protests over the women's detention will also be held in Berlin and Paris. A number of religious figures have urged leniency for Alekhina and Tolokonnikova, who both have small children, and an online petition requesting their release has attracted more than 3,000 signatures. Supporters of the accused also plan to hold a mass prayer for them at the cathedral, Ekho Moskvy said.