Pussy Riot message 'to fool police'

Police have detained a man who has confessed to killing two women in a central Russian city and trying to mislead investigations by scrawling a message at the murder scene demanding freedom for jailed members of the Pussy Riot band.

Russia's Investigative Committee said today that the man - a 38-year-old university professor named Igor Danilevsky - was detained yesterday in Kazan.

The committee said Danilevsky wanted the deaths of the 38-year-old woman he dated and her 76-year-old mother to appear as if they were a "ritual killing". It added that he had convinced the woman to take out a loan to repay his debts.

Three band members have been sentenced to two years in prison for a stunt at Moscow's main cathedral entreating the Virgin Mary to save Russia from president Vladimir Putin.