The judge in the high-profile case of feminist punk group Pussy Riot has been assigned a bodyguard, according to the Moscow City Court’s press service.
Marina Syrova, the Khamovniki Court judge presiding over the Pussy Riot trial, will receive a state-appointed bodyguard over fears for her security amid a case that has grabbed international headlines and intensified anger at the authorities.
Syrova is expected to hand down a verdict at 3:00 p.m. [11:00 GMT] on Friday. Prosecutors have asked for a three-year prison sentence for the three women, who remain jailed over their irreverent “punk prayer” in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in February.
Syrova is the third Moscow judge this year to have been granted state protection. Last year, a total of 13 federal judges in the capital were provided with bodyguards, including one who had presided over a case against opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov.
The Pussy Riot case has split Russian society, with some opting for a harsh punishment and others saying a prison sentence is excessive.
The women, aged between 20 and 30, face up to seven years in prison if convicted on charges of hooliganism aimed at inciting religious hatred.
