TWO members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot ran out of a police station in their trademark garish balaclavas after being released following several hours of questioning in Sochi, the host city of the winter Olympics.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, along with seven others, were detained by police near Sochi's ferry terminal, a popular area for fans celebrating the olympics, and taken to a police station for questioning.
Police said they were questioned in connection with a theft at the hotel where they were staying. No charges were filed.
Ms Tolokonnikova said the detention was the latest in a series of harassments against the group since Sunday. She said they had been detained for several hours on the previous two days.
"we members of Pussy Riot have been here since late Sunday and we were constantly detained since then," Ms Tolokonnikova said after her release. "we are constantly surrounded by people, not you journalists, but people who are shadowing us, following our every move and looking for any excuse to detain us."
Pussy Riot gained international attention in 2012 after barging into Moscow's main cathedral and performing a "punk prayer" in which they entreated the Virgin Mary to save Russia from Vladimir Putin, who was on the verge of returning to the Russian presidency.
Ms Tolokonnikova and Ms Alekhina were sentenced to two years in prison, but were released in December under an amnesty bill.
Earlier yesterday, Ms Tolokonnikova wrote on her Twitter account that "At the moment of detention, we were not conducting any actions, we were walking in Sochi.
"we are in Sochi with the goal of staging a Pussy Riot protest. The song is called Putin will teach you to love the motherland.
She also said that police had shoved her and other detainees and that the group would file a complaint about their treatment to Russia's Investigative Committee.
Pussy Riot, a performance-art collective which edits its actions into music videos, has become an international flashpoint for those who contend Mr Putin's government has exceeded its authority in dealing with an array of issues, notably human and gay rights.
Since their release in December, they have made many appearances over-seas to push their campaign for improved conditions in Russia's prisons. Ms Alekhina and Ms Tolokonnikova recently visited the US to take part in an Amnesty International concert.
The area where the group members were detained is in central Sochi, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the seaside olympic venues.
Russia has put severe limitations on protests in Sochi during the olympics, ordering that any demonstration must get approval and be held only in the neighbourhood of Khosta, an area between Adler and central Sochi that is unlikely to be visited by outsiders.