Azernews.Az

A St. Petersburg city court will start a preliminary hearing on Thursday into lawsuits against U.S. pop diva Madonna and organizers of her recent St. Petersburg concert seeking a total of 333 million rubles ($10.5 million) in damages for violating a ban on "gay propaganda," the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily said, RIA Novosti reported.

Lawyer for the plaintiffs Alexander Pochuyev said he hopes a Madonna representative will appear at the hearing.

The lawsuits were filed against Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, the concert's organizers (PMI company) and the concert hall, Pochuyev said in August.

Nine people filed lawsuits demanding compensation for "moral damages" stemming from "the open promotion of homosexuality" during her August 9 concert in Russia's second largest city, he added.

A group of activists from the St. Petersburg-based civil group Parental Control earlier asked police to investigate the concert, claiming that children as young as 12 were in attendance and accusing the singer of violating a local law prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality among minors.

During her show at St. Peterburg's largest concert hall, which was attended by 25,000 people, Madonna complained about "growing intolerance" in the world and called for solidarity with gays and lesbians. She had pink armbands distributed in the audience and asked her fans to raise their hands in a show of support for homosexuals.

Madonna also spoke out in support of all-female group Pussy Riot. Three members of the band were sentenced to two years in jail over a February protest in Moscow's largest cathedral against Orthodox Church support for Vladimir Putin ahead of the March 4 presidential polls that returned him to the Kremlin for a third term.

St. Petersburg's controversial law came into effect in March and has been strongly criticized by rights groups.