Freed Pussy Riot member never expected to be jailed

A member of the punk band Pussy Riot has said they never expected to be jailed for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in February.

Speaking to Russian broadcaster Ren-TV after her two-year jail term was suspended on Wednesday, Yekaterina Samutsevich said she had been prepared to defend her actions "in interviews", but not in court.

In August the trio were jailed for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after staging a demonstration in Moscow's main cathedral, Christ the Saviour.

However, she admitted the group - which is made up of a number of other members - faced a dilemma in how to continue their protests, after having been seen by some to have desecrated the church.