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Russian chess grandmaster-turned-political activist Garry Kasparov could be sentenced for five years in prison after accusations that he bit a police officer during a demonstration supporting a Pussy Riot protest. Kasparov, 49, was one of the 100 people detained by police close to Moscow ’s Khamovnichesky Court . According to the Telegraph, Kasparov has, however, denied the charges as ‘drivel’. The activist, who is a co-founder of the Solidarity opposition group, said after his release: “Want to see this officer. The suggestion that I bit him is total drivel. I tried to get free, of course, but my teeth were firmly gritted. Maybe it was a police dog that bit him?” In response, the police said that they were ready to ‘carry out a test comparing a police dog's bite to Kasparov's teeth’ in order to prove the alleged assault. According to the report, about 2,000 demonstrators had gathered close to the court in support of three members of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alekhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, who were jailed for conducting a ‘punk prayer’ in Moscow’s main cathedral in February, during which they urged the Virgin Mary to ‘drive out Putin’. Pussy Riot said that their cathedral protest was against the Orthodox Church supporting Vladimir Putin's re-election to the presidency in March, the report added. The prosecution provoked a wave of international protest, with the US and British Governments joining celebrities, such as Madonna and Sir Paul McCartney, in condemning the trial as an attack on political freedom, the report added.

Jail term likely for ex-Russian chess champ Kasparov for biting cop during Pussy Riot protest