MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Wednesday rejected a plea to release Pussy Riot punk band member Maria Alyokhina from prison where she is serving a two-year sentence for protesting in a Moscow cathedral, RIA news agency reported.

"The court has ruled against granting the request," state-run RIA quoted the judge as saying. Alyokhina, 24, had asked to be freed to be with her five-year-old son and serve the remainder of the sentence when he is older.

(Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Louise Ireland)