In less than three years, Pussy Riot has morphed from a little-known feminist protest band to an international cause celebre. As its two jailed members are freed from prison under an amnesty, the BBC News website recaps the group's story so far. Pussy Riot was founded in 2011, but shot to greater prominence after appearing in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in February 2012, to perform an obscenity-laced song called Punk Prayer which attacked the Orthodox Church's support for President Vladimir Putin. Several weeks after the cathedral stunt - which was was broken up by church officials - Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were arrested and charged with "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred". They were held without bail until their trial in late July when they were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. Samutsevich was freed on probation in October 2012, but Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina remained in jail. The case divided Russia with many feeling the women were being too harshly treated and made examples of as part of attempts to clamp down on opposition to the government.

But others felt their actions were a gross offence to the Orthodox faith. The trio's fate attracted much international attention. Musicians like Sting, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Madonna and Yoko Ono called for their release, while human rights groups designated them prisoners of conscience. Pussy Riot's distinctive coloured balaclavas became a widely-recognised symbol. The women - both mothers of young children - faced tough conditions inside Russia's prison system and had a number of parole requests turned down. hoodie mockup templateTolokonnikova (above left) complained of abuses by prison staff and went on hunger strike.onassis hoodie The pair's sentences were due to end in March 2014, but their release became inevitable in December after an amnesty law was signed by the Russian parliament, covering at least 20,000 prisoners, including mothers.adept hoodies

Mr Putin's critics see the amnesty as a bid to avoid controversy overshadowing Russia's hosting of the Winter Olympics in February. Maria Alyokhina - the first of the duo to be freed from jail - told a Russian TV channel that the amnesty was a PR stunt and she would rather have remained in prison. Tolokonnikova, gesturing as she walked out of a prison hospital in Siberia, said that together with Alyokhina she would set up a human rights group to help prisoners.pflueger hoodiesSince news of the Alder Hey organs scandal first hit the headlines in the autumn of 1999, the hospital has been at the centre of numerous shocking revelations and accusations.def leppard hoodie ukThe twists and turns in the body parts saga led to bitter criticism of management, with parents complaining of being constantly "battered by new disasters".snell hoodie

Here is a timetable of events:September 7, 1999 - Giving evidence at the Bristol Public Inquiry, Professor Robert Anderson, president elect of the British Paediatric Cardiac Association, reveals Alder Hey has "probably the biggest and best collection" of hearts in the country.October 6, 1999 - It emerges that the other organs have been stockpiled in a laboratory belonging to the University of Liverpool. Hospital bosses claim that many were removed by Dutch pathologist and cot death expert Professor Dick van Velzen.The revelations prompt then-Secretary of State for Health Frank Dobson to order a countrywide investigation by the Chief Medical Officer into the retention of organs.sunderland afc hoodieOctober 14, 1999 - Joan Wheeler, who lost her baby son Karl 27 years ago, sets up a support group for families affected by the scandal. Around 50 families first meet at the beginning of November.December 3, 1999 - Liverpool coroner Andre Rebello agrees to open an inquest into the death of a four-and-a-half-month-old north Wales girl whose organs were allegedly removed without her parents' consent.

He says the family of Kayleigh Valentine has been "brutalised by a system" and describes the scandal as "absolutely outrageous".Later that day, Health Minister Alan Milburn announces an independent inquiry into the organs issue at Alder Hey as support group Pity II (Parents interring their young twice) hold their second meeting in the full glare of the country's media.December 21, 1999 - Alder Hey hospital releases its own internal report into the organs scandal in which it admits previous practices were "unacceptable" and calls on the coroner and bereaved parents for help. The timing of the report, just days before Christmas, is criticised by parents.January 15, 1999 - Alder Hey defended its decision to take microscopic tissue samples before returning retained organs to parents but parents condemn management response as "insensitive".February 7, 2000 - The independent inquiry, chaired by Michael Redfern QC, gets under way with the panel meeting parents and their legal representatives two days later.

March 16, 2000 - Alder Hey chiefs admit the organs of Stephen White have been accidentally disposed of just days before his parents were due to hold a second funeral. The Health Secretary demands the resignation of trust chairman Frank Taylor.March 23, 2000 - Judith Greensmith, chairman of Liverpool Health Authority, is appointed acting chairman and promises a new era of openness. Interim guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, on dealing with bereaved parents and post-mortem operations are also published.March 24, 2000 - The hospital's chief executive Hilary Rowlands goes on extended leave and is replaced by acting chief executive Tony Bell.April 18, 2000 - The hospital sets up a special project board to deal with the scandal and invites parents' representatives to participate.May 12, 2000 - Alder Hey bosses say they have mistakenly "disposed of" the organs of Simone Robinson who died aged three. Her parents, who were initially told the hospital did not have their daughter's organs, say they are appalled.

They had requested to remain anonymous but the hospital released their name without consultation.June, 2000 - The organs store is moved from laboratories in Myrtle Street to a specially-adapted unit at the West Derby Hospital.August 15, 2000 - Parents talk of being "battered by new disasters" after it emerges that a store of brain tissue has been discovered. A further 62 families, previously given the all-clear, face the anguish of being told their children's organs have been removed and retained while other organs remain unidentified.September 21, 2000 - One of Alder Hey's two heart surgeons - Roger Franks - says he has ceased operating on children with cardiac problems due to increasing public attacks on his work.September 30, 2000 - It emerges that police in Canada have issued a warrant for the arrest of Prof van Velzen following the discovery of children's body parts in a lock-up storage unit. The pathologist, who worked at the IWK Grace hospital in Nova Scotia after leaving Liverpool, insists he has done nothing wrong.

October 5, 2000 - The hospital releases the findings of a review into the Cardiac Unit at Alder Hey which it said revealed the quality of surgery was "extremely high". But the report also showed that the post-operative death rate of surgeon Roger Franks for the complex "switch" operation was almost three times the national average.October 30, 2000 - The British Medical Association issues guidelines to doctors on how to obtain consent for the removal of organs from dead patients. Alder Hey families warn that the guidelines must be implemented by law.November 13, 2000 - There was a new twist to the organs controversy after it was revealed that up to 400 foetuses were stored in the University of Liverpool laboratory without parental permission.November 28, 2000 - Pity II criticises Alder Hey for sending letters detailing how to carry out "DIY burials" of their children's body parts returned by the hospital.January 11, 2001 - Prof Donaldson hosts a summit in London designed to produce guidelines safeguarding against another Alder Hey.