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Pussy Riot members 'arrested in Sochi' Pussy Riot members are released in Sochi
(about 2 hours later)
Two members of the protest group Pussy Riot say they have been arrested in the Russian resort of Sochi where the Winter Olympics are being held. Two members of the Russian protest group Pussy Riot who were arrested on Monday near the Winter Olympics resort of Sochi have been released.
Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who were freed from jail in December, said they had been detained in the centre of the town on suspicion of a criminal offence. Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were being held on suspicion of theft.
They spent two years in prison for a singing a protest song in a cathedral. The pair were convicted for protesting against President Putin in 2012.
The town of Sochi is some distance from where the Games are taking place. They staged their protest along with other band members in Moscow's largest cathedral and were only released from jail in December.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova told the BBC's Steven Rosenberg that she and Maria Alyokhina were being held at a police station after being detained on suspicion of "theft". They have not yet been officially charged. 'No space for protest'
Ms Tolokonnikova said that they had arrived in Sochi on Sunday to perform a new song, Putin Will Teach You To Love Your Motherland, about "political repression in Russia". The two band members and two other women emerged from the police station in Sochi wearing their trademark ski masks after their brief detention.
She tweeted that the authorities used "force" during the detentions near a ferry terminal about 30km (20 miles) north of the seaside Olympic venues. The group of women then ran down the street outside the police station singing "Putin will teach you to live the motherland" - a new song which correspondents say sarcastically lampoons the president's leadership.
Hooliganism "Now there is an occupation of this territory, because the city is under total police and security control," Nadezhda Tolokonnikova told reporters.
Ms Tolokonnikova also claimed that since their arrival, they had been detained several times. She described Sochi as a "police town". "We have arrived here on Sunday [and] we are being detained all the time. Even when we were driving our car and walking in the street. So they are looking for any reasons to arrest us."
Local human rights activist Semyon Simonov told the Associated Press news agency that he was with the two women when they were stopped and accused of theft. Ms Tolokonnikova said they were detained for 10 hours by police on Monday after arriving "to make a political claim about the Sochi Olympics".
Mr Simonov said that several other activists were also detained by police at the same time. He said that the women were being held at a police station in Adler, a suburb of Sochi where the Olympic Park is located. "There is no space for political protest here," she said. "If you want to say something critical you will be detained."
Ms Alyokhina and Ms Tolokonnikova were convicted of hooliganism after staging a protest in Moscow's largest cathedral in 2012 in opposition to President Vladimir Putin's government. Ms Alyokhina said that the pair were going to release a new song and prepare a video "on the basis of what has happened to us during this day-and-a-half".
Earlier this month, six members of Pussy Riot signed an open letter insisting that the two should no longer be described as members of the punk rock collective. Earlier this month, six members of Pussy Riot signed an open letter insisting that Ms Alyokhina and Ms Tolokonnikova should no longer be described as members of the punk rock collective.
The remaining members of the group said the pair had forgotten about the "aspirations and ideals of our group" and were wrong to appear at an Amnesty International concert in New York.The remaining members of the group said the pair had forgotten about the "aspirations and ideals of our group" and were wrong to appear at an Amnesty International concert in New York.
In a separate development, the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday defended the removal of a transgender Italian gay rights activist from an Olympics arena, arguing that she was "escorted peacefully" from the premises and not detained.In a separate development, the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday defended the removal of a transgender Italian gay rights activist from an Olympics arena, arguing that she was "escorted peacefully" from the premises and not detained.
Former Italian MP Vladimir Luxuria - dressed in rainbow colours - was taken away by four unidentified men in a car with Olympic markings as she tried to enter an arena Monday night for a women's hockey game.Former Italian MP Vladimir Luxuria - dressed in rainbow colours - was taken away by four unidentified men in a car with Olympic markings as she tried to enter an arena Monday night for a women's hockey game.