Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov dragged away from massive protest as Russia jails Pussy Riot trio for two years for hooliganism in 'show trial'

• Judge Marina Syrova said the three band members had 'carefully planned' their February 21 action inside the Christ the Saviour Cathedral
• Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, smiled as the verdict was read out
• About 20 people have been arrested outside the court including former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now an opposition political figure
• Protests in support of the group took place today in cities around the world
• A long list of international celebrities have backed their cause

As the outcry continues after the anti-Putin Pussy Riot singers were jailed for two years over a 50-second cathedral protest, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was arrested for his protestations outside the court.
After today's staggering news, leader of the opposition, the mild-mannered Kasparov was shown in forceful terms that the the Russian security forces are clamping down on unrest.
The pictures clearly show Kasparov being manhandled by the Russian police as a growing clamour of disbelief begins to spread at the severe sentencing.

About 20 people have been arrested outside the court since the start of the judgement, including former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, (pictured) now an opposition political figure

Arrested: Police officers detain former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, a leading opposition activist, outside the court

In you go: The detaining of Kasparov shows the hard line the Russian security forces are taking

Kasparov behind bars: The Pussy Riot trial has drawn international outrage as an emblem of Russia's intolerance of dissent

Flashback: Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, right, in action against Indian Viswanathan Anand during the Linares Chess Tournament in 2005

In what many viewed as a ‘show trial’, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, who both have children, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, sat behind a glass wall as Judge Marina  Syrova convicted them of ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’.
In a  judgement lasting almost two hours, the judge – who has only once given a not guilty verdict in 179 hearings – ruled that the trio showed ‘clear disrespect to society’ by staging their ‘Punk Prayer’ in Moscow’s biggest cathedral on February 21 when they belted out a raucous chorus calling on the Virgin Mary to ‘drive out Putin’.

Time to reflect: The Pussy Riot band members show the court's written verdict as they sit in a glass cage surrounded by the world's media

They had offended the feelings of Orthodox believers, she added, before sentencing them to ‘two years deprivation of  liberty in a penal colony’.
The verdict – which could see them sent to Siberian labour camps – is likely to spark a weekend of protest in Russia and in cities around the world.
Their two years will count from their arrest so they can expect releases in March 2014 unless pardoned by Putin.
But Russian dissident and blogger Alexei Navalny said: ‘They are in jail because it is Putin’s personal revenge.
‘This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin.’

Undaunted: Sitting together, Yekaterina Samutsevich (left ), Maria Alyokhina (centre) and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova smiled as the guilty verdict was read out

The women, two of whom have young children, were charged with hooliganism connected to religious hatred but the case is widely seen as a warning that authorities will only tolerate opposition under tightly controlled conditions

On trial: The three women are escorted before the court hearing today in Moscow

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, right, are led into the court wearing handcuffs

In London a fortnight ago for the Olympics, Putin had said the women ‘should not be judged too severely’. Yesterday calls were starting for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.
While the sentence for ‘hooliganism motivated by religious hatred’ was relatively light compared with the seven-year maximum, the case is widely seen as a ‘show trial’ warning to others daring to challenge Putin’s ‘authoritarian rule’.
The trio had expected no mercy for their political protest. Tolokonnikova said shortly before the verdict, which she assumed was written in the Kremlin: ‘I do not believe in this court. There is no court. It is an illusion.’
Russian opposition leader Kasparov, the former chess world champion, was one of dozens arrested outside the court in a huge security clampdown. 

A topless women's rights activist hacked down a Christian cross in the Ukrainian capital Kiev with a chain saw on Friday in protest at the prosecution of the Russian feminist punk band, Pussy Riot

Later there were claims he was beaten but also that he bit a policeman, which could mean he will face charges.
The US denounced the sentences as ‘disproportionate’.
Western campaigners were led by Sir Paul McCartney and Madonna in the run-up to the trial.
Yesterday Amnesty International dubbed  the court’s ruling a ‘bitter blow’ to freedom of expression in Russia.
In London, around 50 people gathered at the Royal Court theatre in a show of support for the women.
Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said: ‘I am deeply concerned by the sentencing of three members of the band Pussy Riot, which can only be considered a disproportionate response to an expression of political belief.’

Supporters of feminist punk group Pussy Riot stand behind barricades surrounding a court, in Moscow, Russia

International support: Demonstrators wear hoods and hold banners reading in Bulgarian 'We are all Pussy Riot' during a demo in front of the Russia's embassy in Sofia

Renate Kuenast (left) of the German Greens Party and Markus Loening, German Federal Human Rights Commissioner, join supporters protesting outside the Russian embassy in Berlin

Protest: A Pussy Riot supporter holds a placard with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a rally in Brussels

The women's cause has caught international attention

A representative of the French branch of Amnesty International speaks during a rally in Pussy Riot's defence in Paris

Pussy Riot supporters and member of Amnesty International gather to support the Russian feminist punk-rock band in Brussels, Belgium

Great Britain: Supporters hold placards outside the the Russian Federation Embassy in London

A supporter throws her hands in the air during a protest in London