Icelandic mayor dons dress in support of Pussy Riot

With less than a week until the verdict in the Pussy Riot trial is expected to arrive, support for the Russian musical group has spread to Iceland, where the capital city's mayor showed his solidarity during the local gay pride parade.

Russia Times reports that Reykjavik mayor Jon Gnarr appeared wearing a pink dress and a balaclava mask during the parade, dancing atop a truck bearing the banner, "FREE PUSSY RIOT." According to The Moscow Times, one of the band's songs, "Clear the Cobblestones," which may reference Moscow's Red Square, was playing during Gnarr's demonstration.

The feminist punk band is currently in jail pending the verdict of their trial for performing a political protest song on the steps of the country's main cathedral in March. The group's "punk prayer" was a statement against President and former prime minister Vladimir Putin. It faces three years in prison if found guilty of "hooliganism."

Last week, another Icelandic celebrity, singer and actress Bjork, expressed her support for the band on her Facebook page, saying, "the Russian authorities should let them go home to their families and children." Pussy Riot has also gained the attention of at least one American star, Madonna, who said the group had "done something courageous" and wrote the band's name on her back for a concert in St. Petersburg.

The band has also gained support from at least one local religious group: Georgia's Kanal PIK TV reports that a Muslim clerics organization, the Russian Mufties Council, refuted Putin's suggestion that Pussy Riot would have been killed had it done their song at a mosque. Council chief Nail Mustafin said the group would have been "released and let go with God" in such a scenario, adding that the council believes the band should be released from prison.

Footage of Gnarr's parade appearance, posted on YouTube on Aug. 11 by user "porkkalaporkkala," can be seen below: