St. Pete court begins hearing in lawsuit against Madonna
ST. PETERSBURG. Oct 11 (Interfax) - A private hearing of the lawsuit filed against Madonna and the organizers of her concert in St. Petersburg has begun in the St. Petersburg Moskovsky District Court.
The court hearing is chaired by Vitaly Barkovsky, deputy chairman of the St. Petersburg Moskovsky District Court, an Interfax correspondent has reported. The defendants are represented by representatives of the St. Petersburg music industry and PMI. No representatives of Madonna are present at the hearing.
"The institution of family has been undermined. We are hoping that these legal proceedings will help raise this issue. There were many questions about the amount of the fine. We believe it was sufficient to hurt not only the performer's wallet, but also her brains and the brains of the organizers of her concert so that they understand that such actions are a crime not only from the point of view of the law, but also morals," Darya Dedova, press officer for the Union of Russian Citizens, said before the court hearing.
If the plaintiffs win the case, the money recovered from the defendants will be used to support mothers and children, Dedova said.
According to earlier reports, the St. Petersburg Moskovsky District Court accepted for consideration a lawsuit against Madonna, the Peterburgsky concert hall where she gave her concert in St. Petersburg, and PMI, which organized the concert.
The plaintiffs (the Union of Russian Citizens and some other public associations) are seeking to recover from Madonna and the concert organizers 333 million rubles for insulting the feelings of believers and the cultural traditions of the city's residents.
According to the Union of Russian Citizens, among the documents attached to the lawsuit is a video of Madonna trampling an Orthodox cross and asking people wearing pink bracelets to raise their hands.
