Moscow ( CNN ) -- Three members of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of hooliganism after performing a song criticizing President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow church , Russia 's state news agency reported . The charge , which carries a potential seven-year sentence , stems from an unusual performance they gave in February . `` Mother Mary please drive Putin away , '' the band screamed , their faces covered in neon masks , inside Moscow 's Christ Savior Cathedral . The anonymous , feminist protest band called it a punk prayer . Three of the women were arrested soon after , and have been in custody ever since . Two of the women have young children . Read more : Jailed punk band Pussy Riot pushes free speech limits in Russia . On Monday , band members apologized to Orthodox Christian believers if they felt they had been insulted , state news agency RIA-Novosti reported . Nadezhda Tolokonnikova , 23 , Maria Alyokhina , 24 , and Yekaterina Samutsevich , 29 , grinned at cameras as police brought them from a van into the court , waving their handcuffed arms behind their backs . They appeared in court in an enclosure that forced them to bend down to speak through small window to be heard . Amnesty International said Monday the trial `` never should have taken place . '' John Dalhuisen of Amnesty said the singers had been making `` a legitimate protest -- this is not a criminal offense . They must be released immediately . '' `` They dared to attack the two pillars of modern Russian establishment -- the Kremlin and the Orthodox Church . While many may have found their act offensive , the sentence of up to seven years in prison they may expect on the charges of hooliganism is wildly out of all proportion , '' he said . Pussy Riot member Tolokonnikova is bearing up well in jail , her husband , Peter Verzilov , told CNN earlier this month . `` She looks very good and she 's taking it as she 's supposed to take it -- as very political and very artistic ; as a very solid , creative and powerful person , '' he said , based on fleeting glimpses of her in court . Pussy Riot specializes in sudden , often illegal public performances , including one in Moscow 's Red Square . `` We did realize that at some point , ( they ) could get arrested . That was always a possibility , but of course no one expected the arrest would come after this particular performance , '' Verzilov said . The punk prayer was inspired by the women 's anger about the relationship between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church . The Orthodox leader Patriarch Kyril has been widely reported as saying Putin 's years in power have been a miracle from God . But the band 's behavior in one of Russia 's most sacred cathedrals has outraged many of the country 's faithful . `` This is a disgusting thing to do , '' one woman told CNN . `` They should go to jail , '' said another . `` A year or two . Let them to think about their behavior . '' But even some of those who were offended believe the women should not be in jail . `` If necessary , God will punish them , '' said one man . `` It must be not be cruel punishment . '' The women also have passionate supporters who say they are victims of political persecution . Verzilov says he has told his 4-year-old daughter who 's to blame . `` Gerra knows that Putin has put Nadia in prison and he 's not letting her out . We have to find a way to defeat him to free Nadia , '' he said . The Russian president has n't commented on the case . Pussy Riot is only one small part of the recent anti-Putin protest movement . But the decision to jail and prosecute these women has ensured that the band 's colorful face masks have become one of the opposition 's most powerful symbols . CNN 's Phil Black , Alla Eshchenko and Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report .
Pussy Riot sang an anti-Putin song in Moscow 's Christ Savior Cathedral . Three band members face charges of hooliganism and up to seven years in prison . They pleaded not guilty and apologized to offended Christians , RIA-Novosti says . Amnesty International says the trial `` never should have taken place ''