Moscow Court Orders Pussy Riot Members To Stay In Jail

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's young daughter was among those in front of the Moscow city courtroom on July 9 where the court rejected all three defendants' requests for release ahead of their trial.

The Moscow City Court has upheld a lower court's order extending the term of pretrial detention until July 24 for activist punk-rock band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich.

The three are members of the Pussy Riot band who were detained in March following an unsanctioned performance in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral.

FOLLOW RFE/RL's Russian Service coverage of the court's ruling (in Russian)

Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina sought release on the grounds that they are the mothers of young children.

They face up to seven years in jail on charges of hooliganism, and their pretrial detention has been extended twice.

They plight has sparked a public outcry in Russia and abroad.

Based on reporting by dpa, Interfax, and ITAR-TASS