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| Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina freed in Russia | Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina freed in Russia |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Maria Alyokhina, a member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, has been freed early from prison under an amnesty, her lawyer says. | |
| Alyokhina was now on her way to Moscow, they said. | |
| The release of fellow band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is also expected later today. | The release of fellow band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is also expected later today. |
| The pair were jailed in August 2012 for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after performing a protest song in Moscow's main cathedral. | The pair were jailed in August 2012 for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after performing a protest song in Moscow's main cathedral. |
| The conviction of the women was criticised by rights groups, anti-Putin activists and foreign governments. | |
| Their sentences were due to end in March 2014, but they have known since last week that their release was imminent under an amnesty agreed by the Russian parliament. | Their sentences were due to end in March 2014, but they have known since last week that their release was imminent under an amnesty agreed by the Russian parliament. |
| On Friday Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky - once Russia's richest man - was also pardoned and freed after more than 10 years in prison for fraud and tax evasion. | |
| He has always insisted his conviction was politically motivated, because of his financial support for opposition parties. | |
| The amnesty deal, unanimously approved by the State Duma in Moscow last week, covers at least 20,000 prisoners, including minors, invalids, veterans, pregnant women, and mothers. | |
| Charges against 30 protesters, mostly foreign nationals, who were arrested on a Greenpeace ship may also be dropped later this week. | |
| The move is being widely seen as attempt to avoid controversy overshadowing the Winter Olympics in February, due to be hosted in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. | |
| Shadow of Olympics | Shadow of Olympics |
| Alyokhina was released from the prison camp in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, early on Monday morning. She reportedly told waiting journalists that she felt well, before being driven away. | |
| "Maria Alyokhina walked out to freedom," her lawyer, Pyotr Zaikin, told the Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. "All of the documents had been completed and signed." | "Maria Alyokhina walked out to freedom," her lawyer, Pyotr Zaikin, told the Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. "All of the documents had been completed and signed." |
| Another lawyer, Pavel Chikov, said: "According to the Russian legislation the colony has to buy her a ticket to the home city which is Moscow. | Another lawyer, Pavel Chikov, said: "According to the Russian legislation the colony has to buy her a ticket to the home city which is Moscow. |
| "So she is currently on the railway station in Nizhny Novgorod awaiting her train to Moscow." | "So she is currently on the railway station in Nizhny Novgorod awaiting her train to Moscow." |
| Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were both convicted after performing an obscenity-laced song called Punk Prayer in Moscow's Christ the Saviour cathedral in February last year. | Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were both convicted after performing an obscenity-laced song called Punk Prayer in Moscow's Christ the Saviour cathedral in February last year. |
| The song was heavily critical of the Orthodox Church's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out". | The song was heavily critical of the Orthodox Church's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out". |
| A third protester, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was given the same jail term but was released on appeal in October last year. Her sentence was suspended because she had not performed the protest song with the others. | A third protester, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was given the same jail term but was released on appeal in October last year. Her sentence was suspended because she had not performed the protest song with the others. |
| Ms Tolokonnikova's husband Pyotr Verzilov told the BBC that the release "was a bit of an image-lightening process for President Putin". | |
| Tolokonnikova's father Andrei told Reuters last week that timing of the women's release was "an absolutely cynical game of the central authorities". | |