By Will Stewart
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Two of the most senior clerics in the Russian Orthodox Church have said they forgive members of the punk band Pussy Riot jailed for a cathedral protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The three performers were sentenced to two years in a labour camp on Friday after being convicted of hooliganism driven by racial hatred, for performing a 50-second ?punk prayer? in Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Moscow, in February.
But Tikhon Shevkunov, head of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery and widely believed to be the Russian president?s spiritual counsellor, told state television the church forgave band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30.
Senior Russian Orthodox Church clerics have said authorities were right to prosecute members of feminist punk band Pussy Riot after they recited a 'punk prayer' in Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Moscow
?The church has been accused of not forgiving them,? the cleric said. ?We did forgive them from the very start. But such actions should be cut short by society and authorities.?
His view was shared by Archpriest Maxim Kozlov: ?We are praying and hoping these young women and all the people shouting in front of the court building realise their acts are awful. And despite this the church is asking for mercy within the limits of law.?
Both clerics supported the court?s decision to prosecute Pussy Riot, despite an international outcry. Governments, including those in Britain, the US and Germany, denounced the sentences as disproportionate.
Former chess world champion Garry Kasparov, 49, was among the prominent figures outside the? Moscow courtroom as the verdict was announced.
He now faces up to five years in jail after being accused of ?biting? a policeman who he said had assaulted him during his arrest as he was giving a TV interview.
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Mr Kasparov was later released and attended a clinic so his own injuries could be recorded by a doctor.
?I can?t listen to this nonsense that I bit him,? he said. ?I tried to protect myself but my teeth were tight shut. Maybe a police dog bit him? Let?s ask experts to give their opinion.?
The Pussy Riot case underlines the vast influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Although church and state are formally separate, the church identifies itself as the heart of Russian national identity and? critics say its strength makes it a quasi-state entity.
Some Orthodox groups and many believers had urged strong punishment for an action they consider blasphemous.
Opposition leader and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was among the arrests in Moscow as three members of Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a labour camp apiece on Friday
Supporters of the feminist punk band were arrested by Russian police as the verdict was delivered
Head of the church, Patriarch Kirill, has made no secret of his strong support for Putin, praising his leadership as ?God?s miracle?, and describing Pussy Riot?s? performance as part of an assault by ?enemy forces? on the church.
The Orthodox Church said in a statement after the verdict that the band?s stunt was a ?sacrilege? and a ?reflection of rude animosity toward millions of people and their feelings?. It also asked the authorities to ?show clemency toward the convicted in the hope that they will refrain from new sacrilegious actions?.
The husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova claimed the verdict indicates Russia will become a totalitarian state unless a revolution prevents it.
Pyotr Verzilov, 25, said: ?A revolution will save my daughter, my wife and everyone else. Only it can do this. I think a picture of Russia was rather terrible for the world anyway, but now this clear signal has been sent that the country is moving not even in the direction of China, but in the direction of North Korea. This would never happen in any Western country, it?s just not possible.? Mr Verzilov ? questioned but released after the cathedral performance ? and his wife have a daughter, Gera, four, who, it is believed, has not seen her mother since February.
They did not get the chance to say goodbye before his handcuffed wife was dragged away: ?After the girls heard the verdict, we had a couple of glances, for five seconds, and that was it. She was led away by guards.?
Pussy Riot will appeal the verdict and could have their sentence reduced, but judges may not dare to lessen punishments many believe were ordained in the Kremlin.
The band listened to the case against them from a glass cage throughout their trial in a Moscow court
Defence lawyer Nikolay Polozov said: ?There is no hope we will achieve justice. It is obvious Putin, who ordered this case, will make it impossible to restore justice.??
Putin?s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: ?The verdict is a court decision. Putin has articulated his attitude but he cannot impose it to the court.?
One Moscow newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda, claimed the punishment would be reduced: ?There is a feeling Moscow city court, after the lawyers? appeal, will cut the sentence to one year.?
Putin could pardon the band but only if they plead with him to do so, which supporters say they will not do.
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