Feminist punk group Pussy Riot member Yekaterina Samutsevich sits inside a glass cage at a court in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. Security is tight around a Moscow courthouse where three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot are to hear the verdict Friday in a trial that could send them to prison for seven years. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
MOSCOW - A Russian judge has found three members of the provocative punk band Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism, in one of the most closely watched cases in recent Russian history.
The judge on Friday said the three band members committed hooliganism driven by religious hatred and offending religious believers.
The three were arrested in March after a guerrilla performance in Moscow's main cathedral calling for the Virgin Mary to protect Russia against Vladimir Putin.
They face a maximum seven years in prison. The sentence is to be pronounced later Friday.
