other opponents of putin have also faced trial. this oil tycoon, for example, was convicted of fraud and tax evasion and has been in jail since 2003. the kremlin broke up his company. critics believe that the trial was putin's way of taking revenge. while medvedev was president, the authorities shortened the sentences of some former executives in the company, but one former employee does not think the oligarch himself will be out of jail andsoon. some people have had their sentences shorten, but the trials of other staff have just begun. >> the former judge has joined the anti-putin movement. she wants to expose corruption in the judiciary were money or politics determines the outcome of many cases. she says russians have become very skeptical of the courts. >> the current justice system alarms a lot of russians, and there is no sign of liberalization, either. the judiciary is not a separate part. it continues to be an exemption for -- an extension of state power. >> she thinks that will not change while putin is president. she sus

-- putin is making? >> the girls have made a stance to make a loud statement a loudputin is doing to russia, and now he is making them pay the price. >> in your closing statement the trial earlier this month, pussy riot member talked about the connection between church and state in russia and described the significance of christ the savior cathedral where the pussy riot protest took place. >> during the closing statement, the defendant is expected to express regrets. in my case, as in the case of my colleagues, this is unnecessary. i want to express my views about the cause of what has happened with us. the fact the cathedral had become a significant symbol and political strategy of our powers that be was clear to many thinking people when vladimir putin former kgb colleague took over as head of the russian orthodox church. after this, crisis ever cathedral was used openly as a flashy setting for the politics of the security services, which is a main source of power in russia. >> i want to play a clip of

putin hasn't been in the u.k. at all since 2005 and wasn't at the opening ceremony, so there's something in that. that said, george, it's also worth pointing out that this is a huge trade potential visit. so the likes of boris johnson, the mayor of london has been saying there could be plenty in it for the u.k. >> very good to see president putin. in the sense that i hope very much he will be able to deal with russia. and that will be at the top of the agenda. >> ahead of -- >> i hope he will likely take part, dabble. i think that is what we want to see. the we want the politician olympics, that's what we want. >> that's boris, hoping we might get a word with alexander jew cough, the president of the russian olympic committee to get his views. but obviously russia trying to focus on the olympics, the games, difficulty to avoid the bigger picture, george. >> thank you very much. joining me now via webcam is an independent activist from hamah. we've been concentrating clearly on aleppo for a few days. what's the sit

putin's definition of leniency. the father of katia said that every russian generation had gone to prison, that the country was now turning into saudi arabia or iran. hundreds of protestors for and against the punk band were kept back by police. a few dozen were rounded up, including the former world chess champion gary kasparov, who could still be heard shouting after the door to the police van closed with him inside. this evening, the russian orthodox church said in a statement the verdict was lawful, but it asked for mercy, though it didn't spell out what mercy meant. "the women's action slapped christians in the face," this priest said. but he added that god had already punished them by taking away their common sense. the kremlin hasn't commented, though president putin said two weeks ago that the women should not be judged too harshly. >> woodruff: coming up later tonight, we'll examine what today's verdict means for putin's struggle with the opposition. and on our web site, see the song that got the band in tr

to express their protest against putin because patrick patrick supported him a putin. big sigh which there was no service. now. they found a plane in the hearts. and hearts of the cathedral there were. she said that they were looking for a place they found a place where they were. not about to enter the just. gotten to the place. of the closing and started to take out the contrasts someone. removed from the plane let's think you see drew did not try to get. parts in the creation. or the uploading of the video clean to the internet. the rules of. before. they're rooted in a taint when she left. the court believes that. these three defendants are guilty of committing the offense. and the testimony of defendants in this think seems. fair sceptical. because. they're consistent with other testimonies. despite the fact. that because they pled guilty. by the testimony. the lady. in her testimony. she believed an orthodox believer and she works as a member of the staff. will she has a contract with. secrecy drill was the second i'm sure working in russia five a year and then.

putin attempted to control mass media. putin [unintelligible] >> do you regret [unintelligible] ? >> i don't. i don't regret anything that happened. when i came to court today are prepared [unintelligible] democracy is bad, but there's nothing better. for me, i was absolutely shocked. i did not expect this. life is life. now i know the english court better than before. even when i lost some cases before, i was satisfied, because i was explained -- >> we have been listening to boris berezovsky, who has just emerged from the court where he received a bitter blow. the judge ruled against him in his lawsuit against his fellow russian billionaire roman abramovich. they're putting on a brave face, but clearly a man desperately disappointed, not least because the judge said much of his evidence was inherently unreliable. a real defeat for boris berezovsky, one of the main exiled enemies of vladimir putin. still a very vocal critic of vladimir putin but today suffering a very serious legal reverse. spain, about 4000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a wildfire helped by stron

putin doing whatever he wants? >> i'm told this is a winner for putin, defender of the faith. these young women broke into a church associated with the tragedy and triumph of the last 1200 years of russia. it was built after napoleon's retreat from moscow. it was demolished by stalin. mr. putin is happy to identify with the russian orthodox church where the domestic vote is. this is a popular move in moscow. >> so they protested foolishly in the orthodox churches which pis pissed off everybody else. what about the broader picture? i agree it was a dumb move on their part. what is the state of the rule of law, of democracy in russia now? >> it's fragile, larry. i i agree. i don't think vladimir putin is anybody's idea of thomas jefferson. this incident strengthens his hand domestically. that more much informs his ability to projest power internationally. that's what we care about, especially because of the middle east. russia's entanglement with syria is a threat to peace in the middle east and a threat to us. >> can you say that the hard-lined but popular move to throw the roc

"holy mother of god, free us from putin," they sing. but the performance was shorter than the edited version appears. they actually sang for less than a minute, but it was long enough to draw the wrath of the state. then members who were not detained have become more cautious. they only agreed to meet us at this disused factory where they sometimes rehearse. afraid of being recognized in public, they were masks to conceal their identity. since their friends were arrested, they have realized how far putin's government is willing to go and how it has shaped russian society. >> these are or president as he is called today, is the most important man in the land. at home, it is the father. a couple of notches lower, the mother. it is the same chain as always. that is what we want to destroy. as long as putin and his cronies are in power, nothing will change. >> since the three women were arrested, there have been regular protests to demand their release. "freedom," chant the demonstrators. many artists and intellectuals support the convent.

keeping russian president putin on his toes. i'll be speaking with opposition leader garry kasparov about his latest trip to the jailhouse and the riots and the controversy that landed him there. >>> later, will stocks kick it into high gear tomorrow after sticking in neutral today. a trio of managers. what they think is going to combat the summertime blues. back in a moment. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people when technology works for you. to dream. to create. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future,

putin's rule. ambassador john bolton is the former ambassador to the united nations and a fox news contributor. these young women are not fans of putin. they have been trying to make a message in a controversial way to draw attention to what they believe is too much of an iron hand in the russian government. for that the message one could argue reinforces their original opinions in the first place, ambassador. >> of course it does. vladimir putin is trying to create what he has called in the past a managed democracy. managed by him. there is a certain amount of freedom of speech within limit. limit that he determines. this is true in the artistic area and certainly true in the political and journalism areas. this trial, this decision by the judge i think all intended to sernld signals there are limits that president putin is not going to see exceeded. megyn: there is talk about whether this is a barometer of vladimir putin's tolerance of dissent. does he have any? >> i think he's got a little bit.

for mocking putin in a song. the white house decided to weigh in, and here's abc's kirit ra a radia. >> reporter: inside the courtroom, the rock trio defiantly rolled their eyes as the verdict was read, and they learned each was going to prison for two years. convicted of "hooliganism driven by religious hatred." their crime? publicly challenging vladimir putin with this stunt, a rock protest at a moscow cathedral, where they begged for divine intervention to rid russia of its longtime leader. outside the court -- outrage. >> we knew it before but this is a case when the first time we, we have political persecution. >> reporter: around the world, the trial of the punk band has mobilized support, with stars from sting, to paul mccartney, to madonna speaking out. >> i think they have paid the price for this act, and i pray for their freedom. >> reporter: today was president obama, the white house saying it was disappointed with the ruling. but in russia, putin rules, not the people. his macho antics, from bare-ches

is there any connection with this church and president putin? >> well, that's precisely what the three women were trying to expose. that's what they say they were trying to expose. very close ties between the government and between the russian orthodox church. the head of the russian orthodox church, the patriarch, said last year that putin was a miracle of god. in the lead-up to the controversial elections we had in march, the presidential elections, he repeatedly came out to support vladimir putin. this is what really upset the women. they emerged as part of this greater protest movement against putin. so this particular protest was their way of showing why is the church basically campaigning for a certain candidate? >> so back in '05 there was another high-profile imprisonment of the billionaire -- you'll have to pardon my pronunciation, mikhael. it turns out his sentence was about being 12 years. they got two years. he got 12 years. did they get off lightly? >> the first one shows the goals -- the first round of putin's presidency. this atte

putin su propuesta fue porque ocupa por cuarta vez la presidencia, sin embargo la condena fue por lo que llamaron un ataque a la iglesia. las protestas no se hicieron esperar, en moscÚ en la calle, la gente exigiÓ su libertad. y una mujer se me desnuda cortÓ una cruz de la iglesia catÓlica. en el mundo jÓvenes protestaron como las 3 cantantes, con las cabezas cubiertas con mÁscaras multicolores en mÉxico un joven llegÓ a la embajada rusa. >>> son simplementes cantantes y que quisieron expresar su libertad de expresiÓn. las cantantes son famosa por su fuerza y oposiciÓn al presidente putin, su encarcelamiento fue criticado por el gobierno de a le para nada le para nad alemania y estados unidos, porque son jÓvenes valientes. el grupo estÁ compuesto por 5 mujeres sÓlo 3 en la cÁrcel antes eran conocidas sÓlo en rusia hoy las conoce el mundo y preguntarle sÍ le pedirian al presidente putin perdÓn no Él debe pedirles perdÓn a a ellas vanessa. >>> gracias raÚl torres reportando desde la ciudad de mÉxico, vamos a una pausa, pero al volver le diremos cÓmo un prisionero

>>una juez impuso dos años de carcen a integrantes de un grupo musical, al parodiar a putin. >>esto se trataria contra una instigacion de odio al cristianismo >>estas cubrieron sus rostros con mascaras pasamontañas e intepretaron el rezo madre de dios dedicado a putin >>antes y después de las elecciones no fueron las únicas en enfrentar a la autoridad, pues miles salieron a las calles a protestar putin dijo que no podia hacer comentarios, pero ante el impacto dijo que la condena era muy fuerte >>paul macartney dio sus declaraciones al igual que madonna, sting y red hot chili peppers,quienes todos criticaron y repudiaron la decisión >>en varios países de la unión europea se han hecho manifestación en apoyo a las artistas >>segun la legislación rusa, la defensa de las jóvenes tiene diez dias para presentar una apelacion a estos dos años de cárcel >>no hay libertad de expresion >>no, no se puede decir lo que quieras antes era impensado este tipo de manifestaciones >>este domingo en al punto hablamos de sueños, de una isla >>vamos al punto, esta semana comenzo el sue�

. >> the song of follows vladimir putin everywhere he goes in london. >> "it was impossible to do my job" -- the words of kofi annan today as he resigned as special envoy to syria. >> the peace plan looks more irrelevant than ever as fighting in syria shows no sign of ending. >> kofi annan appeared frustrated man today enplaned name-calling and finger-pointing at the security council for his decision -- and blamed name- calling and finger-pointing. >> after six months of disappointment and frustration, kofi annan is giving up on his mission impossible in syria. >> i have therefore informed the secretary general of deep un and the set -- of the un and the secretary-general today that i will not continue my mission. >> he blames divisions in the united nations security council and lack of international unity. >> without serious purposeful united and international pressure, it is impossible for me or anyone to compel the syrian government in the first place and also the opposition to take the steps necessary to begin a political process. >> observers say the mission only had an outside

their lawyer says he suspects putin wrote the ruling himself. putin, a former kgb officer, has close ties to the orthodox church. opposition leaders say he's cracking down on dissent and free speech. though this happened in russia, it is getting worldwide attention. protests like this one in times square in new york are popping up all over the world. from london to sydney to san francisco, demonstrators dressed like the band members and performed to show their support. >> we're all pussy riot. >> reporter: dozens were arrested. >> this is a good way to open people's eyes to the unfair incarceration of people all over the world. >> reporter: celebrities including paul mccartney and madonna have called on putin to free the band members. the u.s. state department called the sentence disproportionately harsh. the husband of one of the band members says the title of the song they just released says it all. putin is lighting the fires of revolution. >> while the band's defense lawyers say they'll appeal the verdict, although they have little hope it w

yet, putin recently hinted this case might be different. "i don't think they should be judged too harshly," he said. adding, "it was in the court's hands, not his." the band's supporters and the opposition don't believe it the leader of the main opposition party said the verdict was written by putin himself. he punished people who posed no threat. the band members plan to appeal, but they don't think they'll win and they don't seem to care as they were led out of the courtroom, one said, "we are happy because we brought the revolution closer." kelly cobiella, cbs news, london. >> axelrod: at the university of southern california today, protesters for immigrants' rights held an old-fashioned teach-in to explain a new program designed to protect undocumented workers brought to the u.s. as children from deportation. the program comes with strict guidelines, and terrell brown met one young person who just missed out. >> reporter: were there gangs where you were? >> yes. >> reporter: this one-year-old, who asked cbs news to protect her identity,

>> we think that putin has said his word. he's voiced the girls' sentence. and it's very unlikely that that's going to change in any way. >> will you stay if nadia wins this appeal or even when she is released in two years -- you have dual citizenship in canada. you would have a choice. >> i do have a choice. but my choice is to stay in russia and to fight for russia's future and to fight putin and hopefully in two, three years, putin won't be the head of this country and trials like that will no longer be possible. that's our goal and we're willing to feig for it. >> pyotr, thank you so much for taking the time to tell us your story. >> thank you. >>> "outfront" next, one of the biggest stars in tennis, highest paid female athlete on earth and, hey, she's 25 years old. maria sharapova isn't done yet. she is "outfront" next. >>> and an 11-year-old girl reportedly with down syndrome charged with blasphemy after burning the koran. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she ha

syria will also be in their sides during president putin's brief visit to london russia and britain are poles apart over how to resolve the drawn out conflict as a mess explains. it's unlikely to be an easy meeting prime minister cameron will reportedly use this opportunity to press president putin again over ending violence in syria the two countries have taken opposing views over the conflict britons calling for the removal of president assad and un sanctions on syria while russia maintains talks are the only way the last time cameron and putin met the british leader claims putin had changed his stance on syria and had explicitly called for president assad to go it might have been wishful thinking or lost in translation but either way russia denied that was the case causing embarrassment to cameron since then britain's described russia's veto of the u.n. resolution on syria as inexcusable and indefensible that may cause some awkwardness but the syria questions just the latest rift in a relationship that hit the rocks in two thousand and six over the death in london of former russian s

they say the whole trial has been unfair and decided to laugh in the face of what they see as putin's oppressive system. outside the court anger and a crackdown by police. even the chess star gary kasparov was arrested. this kind of reaction is one reason the punk band says it started protesting in the first place. this is the so-called punk prayer that got them arrested back in february. they stormed the altar of a moscow cathedral calling on the virgin mary to chase president vladimir putin away. it infuriated the faithful and the authorities. critics say the arrests were putin's personal revenge and this trial was simply an instrument of his oppression. >> putin is a man who likes to show his vengeance and for them it seemed like the perfect chance to do it. >> reporter: the trial brought international condemnation from stars such as paul mccartney, sting, and madonna who had the band's name written across her back when she performed in moscow last week. >> i am against censorship and i hope they do not have to serve seven years in jail. that would be a tragedy. >> reporter: in the

putin looked and didn't react much to it. at the peak of the boom he went to moscow and took it into his -- and by then, putin's confidence was huge. he was really believing that russia had truly reemerged because of the massive room russia had enjoyed. and so he said that putin's question was much more about the mortgage-backed securities, which the u.s. had. and out of the blue, putin goes to bush and since you want to meet my dog? he says okay, let's make your dog. so out produced outcome style, this big dog. putin says to bush, c., bigger, better, stronger. this is a massive change in attitude which had taken place despite his concern. he was telling me how the attitudes had changed in emerging market. a decade ago when we felt emerging markets, no one was willing to listen to us and valuations for really cheap and the whole absurd as place appeared to be a real mess. and now all of a sudden a decade later, any sort of country within the emerging market had a lot of hype around it. that's when i decided i was going to wri

despite political differences business ties have always remained pretty good and cameron and putin are expected to find common ground in efforts to boost trades and along to the mood of the two leaders will reportedly go together to the final of the judo competition place and of course is famously a former competitor and a big. still asked for this hour here on r t they did it again as well as john drools iran and has rely on with tory is terrorist groups including al qaida must pay six billion dollars for the nine eleven attacks we report on why the decision could be an echo from america's military past. nine anti-government activists have been arrested in the united arab emirates in the last two days authorities there are cracking down on political the sand saying foreign langrune threaten the state security political studies professor stephen however says it's just suppression of a rising internal social movement. so these are very the mystic local activists who who are moderate islamists who want a greater sense of fairness and equity within society they are among three dozen dissi

and he is a man who described putin i putin's time in power here as a miracle from god. they are uncomfortable with that closeness of the church and the state, and they don't like the idea of vladimire putin returning to the presidency at all. suzanne? >> and phil, do you believe it made a difference when they were sentenced that they performed the protest inside of the church. would it have played out differently if it had taken place simply on the street? >> no, that was absolutely crucial to this case, suzanne. the charge that they faced was hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and so that the trial was filled with witnesses who claimed that they had suffered great spiritual suffering as a result of what took place during that brief 30-second performance by pussy riot in the cathedral, and during the judgment today, the judge used the words disrespectful and insensitive in regards to the way that the women had behaved to not just the church, but religious people as well, and so very much in the country over the last five months since they have been arrested ther

was from god that putin's regime was from god. there was much that was positive that she could offer russia in the world of arts or in the world of research. she claims that she

but there is only one person who can say that, is putin, himself. and those who are joining the growing opposition of putin, have no faith in the government, and they believe in the case, in particular, this prosecution is driven and directed from the very top of the russian political system, and probably putin, himself, and they believe it is ultimately he who will decide if they go to jail, and if so, how long. >> fascinating case. phil, thank you. fascinating report. >>> and this is what we are working on in this hour of newsroom international. police battling rioters in the egyptian peninsula. there are smuggling of the drugs and guns and medical supplies in that sinai region. we will talk about it more coming up. >>> and in a country where s censorship prevails and people are jailed for speaking out, one chinese artist and activist always has pushed the envelope, and his experiences are now documented in a new film. we will talk about that as well when we come back. >> what inspired you to come up with the project? >> [ speaking foreign languag