Two members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot were detained briefly Tuesday in central Sochi, after apparently being considered suspects in a theft at their hotel, and then released, CNN reported.
Earlier in the day, band members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were meeting with journalists when police detained them, according to Tolokonnikova’s husband, Petr Verzilov. Russian media corroborated the report.
“They were put to the floor and beaten and physical force was used to them when they refused to be questioned without the presence of their lawyer, who was on his way to the police department,” Verzilov told reporters.
The two women had been walking down a street accompanied by the journalists, three other members of Pussy Riot who use pseudonyms, and two local activists, when a group of about 10 plainclothes police approached them and asked for their identification, said “Tank,” one of the anonymous bandmates.
The police said they suspected Tolokonnikova may have had something to do with a theft in the hotel where the band members were staying, Tank said.
The officers then took away the band members, activists and journalists for questioning.
Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and Tank tweeted the news about their detention from their cell phones, with Tolokonnikova posting photos of what she said was the vehicle that was taking her to a police station.
Tolokonnikova said they would file a complaint with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
