Three members of the feminist punk band, Pussy Riot, have been found guilty or hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility, in a Moscow court.

Band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alyokhinaere tried after singing an anti-Putin protest song in the capital's Christ the Saviour cathedral.

This was judge Marina Syrova's verdict:

"Tolokonnikova, Samutsevich and Alyokhina have committed hooliganism, that means a severe breach of public order expressing a deep disrespect to the society, motivated by religious hatred and also by hatred of a social group, committed by a group of people under a preliminary agreement."

Sentences have not yet been handed down, but prosecutors are seeking a three-year jail sentence.

Protests in support of the band have been organised across Russia and the world. Many outside the court were arrested, including famous chess player Gary Kasparov, seen here being escorted away by police.

One of the protestors outside the court, Russian author Boris Akunin, said the decision caused great concern:

"I am disturbed and worried by what is happening with our government, especially with our court. I don't understand at all the point of this trial. I don't understand why these girls, no matter what they did, have to sit in prison for half a year."

The Pussy Riot collective formed in 2011 as a protest band against Vladimir Putin's decision to once again run for presidency. Pussy Riot member Tolokonnikova, warned that that the trial was another sign that freedom and democracy was disappearing in Putin's Russia.