Freed Pussy Riot member surprised by criminal charges

2012-10-11 99

Yekaterina Samutsevich walks free from a Russian appeals court on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old was one of three members of punk protest group Pussy Riot handed a two year jail sentence for a controversial stunt at Moscow's main cathedral in February - criticising President Vladimir Putin.

An appeals court upheld the sentences of two of Samutsevich's fellow group members but released her because she had been stopped and led away before the group performed their stunt.

On Thursday, Samutsevich said she knew there would be repercussions, but was not expecting to face a criminal court.

She said she expected to be held for violating a civil order, an administrative charge.

The three members of the group were charged with hooliganism motivated by racial hatred.

Their arrest and subsequent sentencing has drawn strong criticism from opposition groups and Western governments, but public opinion in Russia was against the performance deemed by many to have offensive.

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