23 Dec 2013

Pussy Riot member released

8:57 pm on 23 December 2013

A member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot has been freed early from prison under an amnesty.

Maria Alyokhina told a Russian TV channel the amnesty was a publicity stunt and she would rather have remained in prison.

The release of another band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is also expected.

The pair were jailed in August 2012 after performing a protest song in Moscow's main cathedral.

Their sentences were due to end in March 2014, but they've been released under an amnesty agreed by the Russian parliament.

The amnesty covers at least 20,000 prisoners.