Two members of Pussy Riot flee Russia

Moscow: Two members of female punk group Pussy Riot have fled Russia, while 12 women are still in the country, the group said in its Twitter account. "Two of our members have left the country because of being sought (by police). They are recruiting foreign feminists for new protest actions," the group said. In a tweet that followed, Pussy Riot said "at least 12 Pussy Riot members remain in Russia". Three members of the all-female punk band were jailed for two years for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, in a trial that sparked international condemnation. Along with other members of their band, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, performed a "punk prayer" near the altar of Christ the Savior Cathedral in February urging the Virgin Mary to "drive out" Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lawyers for Pussy Riot said the performance was not anti-religion and was in protest against the church`s support for Putin ahead of the March 4 presidential elections that returned him to the Kremlin. IANS