video transcript

Russian police arrest two university professors for donning balaclavas in a Moscow church in honour of Pussy Riot. The women said they wanted to mark the one-year anniversary of the female punk group's protest against church ties with the state. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PROFESSOR YELENA VOLKOVA, SAYING: "We came here because the girls suffered while being absolutely innocent. They are now in prison, in the harshest conditions possible, their kids are left without their mums. We came here on that day to make it a day of remembrance." Three Pussy Riot members were arrested for their performance last year when they stormed Christ the Saviour cathedral and sang a "prayer" against President Vladmir Putin. Yekaterina Samutsevich was released on appeal, while the other members are serving two years in tough remote penal colonies. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PUSSY RIOT MEMBER YEKATERINA SAMUTSEVICH, SAYING: "The situation in changed. First of all, a lot of people learned about this problem. Those people who earlier didn't pay attention to social problems, problems with the Russian Orthodox Church, problems with Putin and Patriarch Kirill, they learned about these problems and saw the huge amount of information on the Internet and television." Their plight has drawn international criticism, including from musicians Madonna, Sting and Paul McCartney. Samutsevich says the group will consider resuming its attention-grabbing performances after it fights a court decision labelling their songs extremist.