The trial of punk group Pussy Riot at Moscow's Khamovnichesky Court was delayed after the courtroom was temporarily evacuated on Thursday following a bomb threat, the group's defense lawyer Mark Feigin said.
"An anonymous phone call was made, saying there was a bomb in the courtroom," he said.
“The caller said there was a bomb in the room and shouted ‘Free Pussy Riot!’” court press secretary Daria Lyakh said.
The court room was searched, no bomb was found and the trial resumed.
Earlier one of the defendants, Maria Alekhina, called for the fourth time in as many days for Judge Marina Sirovaya to be replaced, claiming she had not allowed the defendants sufficient time to prepare their defense.
"The judge's prejudiced attitude is manifested in her unwillingness to create favorable conditions for the full participation on the defendants in the trial – the refusal to give them time to get acquainted with the documentary evidence, to rest and to prepare for the process," she said.
The prosecution opposed the appeal for the judge to be dismissed, claiming it was merely a stalling tactic to draw out the trial.
