- NEW: Yekaterina Samutsevich was expected to walk out of court Wednesday
- NEW: Court upheld sentences for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina
- The three women were sentenced in August to two years in prison
- The sentence is linked to their performance of a song critical of President Vladimir Putin
(CNN) -- A Moscow court upheld two-year prison terms for two Pussy Riot members but ordered a third freed with a suspended sentence Wednesday.
The Russian punk band members were sentenced for performing a song critical of President Vladimir Putin. The trio was arrested after performing in one of the Russian Orthodox Church's most important cathedrals in February.
Yekaterina Samutsevich was expected to walk out of the court building Wednesday. The court upheld the sentences for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.
The women were convicted in August for hooliganism. The band's fate garnered an international outcry, with celebrities from Paul McCartney to Anthony Bourdain to Madonna backing the cause of the strident trio.
"Say what you will about Pussy Riot: this might not be your kind of music. Their actions might offend you. But this doesn't change the fact that freedom of expression, in whatever peaceful form it takes, is a human right, and one on which the protection of other rights rests," wrote Michelle Ringuette of Amnesty International USA.
The February incident was a flash mob-style act that outraged many of the country's faithful.
Footage of the brief but provocative protest action, in which the band members clad in balaclavas screamed "Mother Mary, please drive Putin away," inside Christ Savior Cathedral attracted wide attention after it was posted online.
A judge rejected the women's defense that they were acting from political motives, ruling that they had intended to insult the Orthodox Church and undermine public order.
An Orthodox Church leader has been widely reported as saying Putin's years in power have been a miracle from God.
Before the hearing last week, the Russian Orthodox Church appealed for leniency for the band members, according to state-owned Ria Novosti.
The church believes repentance will "benefit the souls" of the band members, the news agency said.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has called for the members' release but also said he is "sickened" by their actions.
Two other members of the female punk rock band have fled Russia.
