Sochi, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Two members of the punk band Pussy Riot were detained in Sochi on Tuesday as they planned to film a protest video in the Olympic host city, according to reports and tweets by one of the band members.
The women were among nine people picked up by Sochi police in a sweep that also targeted environmental activists and journalists, the Washington Post reported.
Three members of the band known for its activism and strong opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin were arrested two years ago after performing an anti-Putin song in a Moscow church and turning it into a music video.
The two band members detained Tuesday, Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, remained jailed for the earlier incident until they were released this past December.
The two women appeared on the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" two weeks ago, exchanging jokes with host Stephen Colbert.
Tolokonnikova tweeted on Tuesday that she had been detained "on suspicion of felony." She said "force" was used and that they planned to perform a song called "Putin Will Teach You to Love the Motherland."
A human rights activist who was detained told the Washington Post by cell phone that the women were told they had been picked up because they were witnesses to a theft in a hotel.
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