Madonna was on hand to introduce Pussy Riot at an Amnesty International benefit show last night (February 5).

The human rights group held their first live concert in a number of years at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Madonna paid tribute to Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who were jailed until recently for performing a protest song in a Moscow church, before they took to the stage for a speech.

The Queen of Pop has been a vocal supporter of the Russian punks and she made reference to them whilst performing live in the country in 2012.

Madonna spoke last night of the death threats she received whilst on tour in Russia, before saying: "Eighty-seven of my fans were arrested for gay behaviour - whatever that is."

Pussy Riot's Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina then embarked on a speech which was translated into English.

They said: "Freedom is not a given. It is something we have to fight for every day. It is our duty to speak for those who are still behind bars."

Other acts who took to the stage at the gig meanwhile included Blondie, Tegan and Sara and Lauryn Hill.