Pussy Riot member turns to European human rights court

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a member of the anti-Putin punk group Pussy Riot, has lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, Kommersant daily reported Friday.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a member of the anti-Putin punk group Pussy Riot, has lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, Kommersant daily reported Friday.

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Last week a Moscow court freed Samutsevich at an appeal hearing, but ruled that two other women in the anti-Putin punk group must serve out their two-year sentences.

Samutsevich's lawyer Irina Khrunova said that the arrest of her client was an infringement of the freedom to express opinion and "violates the Article 10 of the European Convention that guarantees the freedom of speech".

Khrunova said that the final and detailed complaint will be submitted with the human rights court in Strasbourg by the end of the year.

The three women were jailed for two years Aug 17, after a court found them guilty of "hooliganism with the aim of inciting religious hatred" in a decision that drew sharp international criticism.

Lawyers for the group have rejected the argument that the group's 40-second performance of a song was anti-religion, and said it was a protest against the Orthodox Church's support for Vladimir Putin ahead of the presidential elections March 4.