MOSCOW, Nov 21 - RAPSI. RAPSI will be hosting a live text broadcast of the Madonna gay propaganda trial in St. Petersburg on November 22. The trial will begin at 13:00 local time (GMT +4), and our broadcast will begin shortly beforehand at 12:45.

Please find the broadcast here.

A total of nine claimants representing socially conservative advocacy groups will face Madonna’s legal representation in St. Petersburg’s Moscovsky District Court Thursday, seeking damages for Madonna’s alleged violation of a city ordinance banning gay propaganda in the presence of children. The activists filed suit last August after Madonna urged the audience to be nice to gay people during her concert in the city.

The plaintiffs seek approximately $10.7 million in damages, claiming that Madonna’s show of support for the LGBT community constituted a violation of St. Petersburg’s gay propaganda ordinance, which purportedly aims to protect children.

It is not yet known who will represent Madonna’s interest in the hearing.

The St. Petersburg law on prohibiting propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia among under-aged, which gathered a host of both supporters and opponents, came into effect on March 30.

Under the amended law public actions intended to promote homosexual and bisexual relations and transgender issues among under-aged are to be punished by administrative fines amounting to 5,000 rubles ($170) for individuals, 50,000 rubles ($1,700) for officials and from 250,000 to 500,000 rubles ($8,500 to 17,000) for legal entities.