An imprisoned member of feminist punk group Pussy Riot fired her lawyers during an appeal hearing Monday, sparking confusion and allegations from prosecutors that the move was meant to delay the proceedings.
Ekaterina Samutsevich, currently serving a two-year prison sentence alongside her band mates Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina for the group’s raucous performance in a Moscow cathedral in February, fired Violetta Volkova, Mark Feygin and Nikolai Polozov, claiming her position departed from those of her lawyers.
Samutsevich said she has a new lawyer, but has not yet signed a contract with him. Her band mates supported her position, saying the move falls within her legal rights, but they declined to ask for new attorneys.
The move riled the state prosecutors, who slammed the move as a “delay tactic.”
The judge, who postponed the hearing until October 10, said Samutsevich had not previously petitioned for a new lawyer and that the Pussy Riot member failed to offer a proper explanation of her position.
The three members were sentenced to prison last month for their “punk prayer” in Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow’s main Orthodox church.