Russian authorities have reportedly detained two members of the punk rock band Pussy Riot among a group of arrests near the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Reports from The Associated Press and Reuters confirmed tweets from Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who said they had been confronted by Russian security forces.
Задержаны в районе Морпорта Сочи по подозрению в уголовном преступлении.
— Надя Толокно (@tolokno) February 18, 2014
Внутри автозака pic.twitter.com/rjukMd1PW4
— Мария Алехина (@MashaAlekhina) February 18, 2014
Маша Алехина, я и еще одна участница Pussy Riot едем в отдел полиции Блиново за нахождение в Сочи. pic.twitter.com/bj8qpX7gMN
— Надя Толокно (@tolokno) February 18, 2014
Activist Semyon Simonov tweeted that he and another nine people were arrested.
Нас (9 чел) жёстко затолкали в автозак. Везут в Адлерский отдел полиции. Здесь рядом М. Алёхина и Н.Толоконникова. pic.twitter.com/hTiy1bHDeJ
— Семён Симонов (@SemyonSimonov) February 18, 2014
However NBC reporter Richard Engel said nine were arrested in total.
NBC has spoken to one of the people who detained with the Pussy Riot members, said there were 9 people detained today in central Sochi.
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) February 18, 2014
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina had recently returned to Russia following a trip through the U.S. and Europe following their release from prison under a new amnesty law. They had been sentenced to two years for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred."
The pair had also recently run into criticism for their high profiles, particularly after their appearance at a concert in New York.
Tolokonnikova tweeted that the pair had been preparing a new protest song.
В Сочи мы находимся с целью проведения акций pussy riot. Песня называется "Путин научит тебя любить родину".
— Надя Толокно (@tolokno) February 18, 2014
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