Pussy Riot appeal delayed after lawyers fired.

Members of pro-gay female Russian punk band will have to wait to see if their two-year jail term can be reduced.

A court appeal into the sentencing of three members of Russian female punk band Pussy Riot has been postponed after one of the group's lawyers was fired.

Maria Alekhina, Ekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were found guilty of 'hooliganism on the grounds of religious hatred' for singing a pro-gay protest song in Moscow’s central Orthodox cathedral and were jailed for two years.

The trio's appeal hearing today (1 October) was adjourned until later this month after Samutsevich's representative was sacked over an undisclosed dispute.

If successful, the women's prison term could be reduced by up to six months at best and prosecutors accused the court of delaying tactics, reported Sky News.

The lawyer's dismissal comes despite the jailed band members calling for their legal team to be given Nobel Peace prizes.

In a handwritten letter, the women said: 'We are calling on our friends and supporters, parliamentarians of free countries, and culture figures to support our nomination of lawyers Feigin, Polozov and Volkova for the Nobel Peace Prize.

'Many people say that our lawyers are not lawyers, but politicians. That is true. It can't be otherwise politically.'

The group were arrested in February after a performance of 'Virgin Mary redeem us of Putin' which included a reference to the country's persecuted LGBT community with the line 'Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains'.

Human rights campaigners condemned the verdict, with Amnesty International calling it a 'bitter blow for freedom of expression'.

Two other members of Pussy Riot have since fled the country to avoid prosecution, leading pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi to offer a 'prize' for people who help identify the women whose faces are usually hidden behind balaclavas.

Πηγή:www.gaystarnews.com