Pussy Riot band say Russian trial is 'Stalinist'

8 August 2012 Last updated at 16:49 ET Help

The Russian punk band Pussy Riot have compared their trial for inciting religious hatred is similar to Stalin-era "political order for repression".

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.

Daniel Sandford reports.

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