Member of female punk band “Pussy Riot” Nadezhda Tolokonnikova gestures before a court hearing in Moscow on August 8, 2012. Members of the all-girl band Pussy Riot who were charged with hooliganism for staging a “punk prayer” against Vladimir Putin were due Wednesday to deliver final statements on the last day of their trial. The controversial hearings raced toward a verdict with prosecutors seeking a three-year sentence and global calls mounting among stage stars and top Western officials to win the young women’s release. AFP PHOTO / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA