Madonna appeal over Pussy Riot as court hearing goes on
US singer Madonna has appealed for the release of three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot during a concert in Moscow.
The singer told a crowd at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night that she was praying for the women's freedom.
She briefly wore a balaclava - in a nod to Pussy Riot's trademark outfits - and had the group's name on her back.
Prosecutors have called for the women, who are accused of inciting religious hatred, to be jailed for three years.
The judge is expected to start delivering her verdict on 17 August. Announcing the verdict could take days, correspondents say.
Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, played a song attacking Russian leader Vladimir Putin in front of the altar of Moscow's main cathedral on 21 February.
They said it was a reaction to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, publicly backing Mr Putin in elections.
'Repression'Addressing her fans at the stadium, Madonna said: "I know there are many sides to every story, and I mean no disrespect to the church or the government, but I think that these three girls - Masha, Katya, Nadya - I think that they have done something courageous."
"I know that everyone in this auditorium, if you are here as my fan, feels they have the right to be free," she said.
The group are currently in court.
The lead singer, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, on Wednesday likened the hearing to "Stalinist-era repression".
She said the authorities had refused to listen to the group, and that it was "a trial of the whole government system".
The group have been seated inside a glass cage at the courtroom.
Last week, Mr Putin, who was re-elected president in March, called for leniency towards the women during a visit to London for the Olympic Games.
There are fears among Russian opposition activists that the trial is part of a crackdown on dissent since Mr Putin's return to the Kremlin, following the biggest anti-government protests in recent Russian history.
Pussy Riot's performance inside Christ the Saviour Cathedral was captured on video.
The women danced and sang a song which parodies a Christian prayer, imploring the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Mr Putin.
Defence lawyer Mark Feygin argued on Tuesday that the case against the women did not stand up because they had been charged with hooliganism under Article 213 of the Russian penal code yet no violence or damage had occurred or been threatened.