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Punk Band: 2 Wanted Band Members Flee Russia to Avoid Arrest


Pussy Riot members, from left, Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova show the court's verdict as they sit in a glass cage at a courtroom in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
Pussy Riot members, from left, Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova show the court's verdict as they sit in a glass cage at a courtroom in Moscow, August 17, 2012.
The Russian punk band Pussy Riot says two members wanted by Russian authorities have fled the country to escape arrest.

The feminist band tweeted on Sunday that two band mates were currently "recruiting foreign feminists to prepare for new actions."

Pussy Riot's three other band members were convicted earlier this month on charges of "hooliganism" and are currently serving a two-year jail sentence.

They were arrested after performing a song inside Moscow's main cathedral in February that ridiculed President Vladimir Putin and his close ties to the Orthodox church.

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Shortly after the sentencing, authorities announced they were searching for the two band mates who had remained free.

Putin's critics say the trial is an example of Russia's intolerance for dissent.

The case has prompted calls for leniency from an array of international musicians, celebrities, and ordinary Russians.


Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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