(Newser)
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Vladimir Putin has said he doesn't want members of the punk group Pussy Riot punished too severely, but a Russian prosecutor thinks they should spend 3 years in jail for their anti-Putin stunt. The prosecutor told a court in Moscow today that the three young women deserve that much on hooliganism charges, after they burst into an Orthodox church and performed a short "punk prayer" song against the president, reports Reuters.
"Using swear words in a church is an abuse of God," said the prosecutor. "The insult is not to Putin but to the social group of Orthodox Christian believers." Defense attorneys and human rights activists say Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, should be set free. They've been held for five months and face up to 7 years on the charges. A verdict should come this week, notes AP.
