MOSCOW, December 3, 2007  –  The hearing today in a Moscow court against the gays arrested yesterday at a polling station as they were voting in the Russian general election has been postponed.

The case was due to be heard, according to papers served on the accused, at 11 am.  But the police file was not sent to court

“We had to wait – and by 1 pm they only brought some of the papers,” said activist Nikolai Alexeyev.

The judge heading the case, Larisa Bogdanovich, refused to start the case, and set a date of December 11 for the cases.

The 13 gays arrested at the polling station shortly before Moscow mayor, Yuri Luzhkov arrived to vote, have been charged with taking part in an unauthorised picket inside the polling station.

The evidence that the prosecution intend to use is that the accused were wearing small Moscow Pride pins and rainbow ribbons.

Many of those arrested were detained by the militia for some seven hours, instead of a maximum of three hours.

If found guilty on December 11, each face a fine of 1,000 roubles (about £20 or $US40)

Mr. Alexeyev told UK Gay News that the group are planning to sue for moral damages.

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Posted: 03 November 2007 at 19:30 (UK time)