Police in Russia's Volga city of Kazan have arrested a man on suspicion of murdering two women whose bodies were found beneath a scrawled message demanding the release of three jailed members of the anti-Putin female punk group Pussy Riot.
Bodies of the victims - a 76-year-old woman and her 38-year-old daughter - were discovered in their apartment on Wednesday. The slogan was written on a wall and is thought to have been daubed in their blood, Russian media reported quoting police on Friday.
Kazan university teacher Igor Danilevsky, 38, who was arrested on Thursday is reported to have confessed to the double murder, police said. He was an acquaintance of the younger of the victims. It was not yet clear whether he had also confessed to writing "Free Pussy Riot" in the apartment.
Supporters of the punk group believe that the murders and the accompanying slogan may have been an attempt to discredit the group. Lawyer for the band Nikolai Polozov said on Twitter that the Kazan murders were "either a horrendous provocation" or the work of a psychopath.
Citing an investigation source, an online posting meanwhile said the suspected killer had written the words in an attempt to throw police off his trail.
The Pussy Riot trio were jailed for two years over a protest in Moscow's largest cathedral against the Orthodox Church's support for Vladimir Putin during his run for the Russian Presidency in March last. Their much-publicized trial divided the Russian society and sparked a wave of protests in support of the group.
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