Two members of punk band flee Russia

MOSCOW -- Two members of the punk band Pussy Riot have fled Russia to avoid prosecution for a protest against Vladimir Putin that sent three of their band mates to prison, the group said Sunday.

Five members of the feminist group took part in a provocative performance inside Moscow's main cathedral in February to protest the Russian leader's rule and his cozy relationship with the Orthodox Church. The women wore their trademark garishly colored balaclavas, which made it difficult for police to identify them, and only three were arrested.

After a controversial trial that highlighted Putin's crackdown on dissent since he began a third presidential term in May, the three band members were convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to two years in prison on Aug. 17. Days later, Moscow police said they were searching for the other band members, an apparent warning to the group to stop its anti-Putin protests.

Even as the judge was reading the verdict in a Moscow courtroom, one of the band members who had escaped arrest played Pussy Riot's latest song, "Putin Sets the Fires of Revolutions," from the balcony of an apartment building across the street.

Pussy Riot tweeted on Sunday that the two activists had fled Russia and are "recruiting foreign feminists to prepare new protest actions." No mention was made of where they went.

At least 12 other members of the group remain in Russia, another message on Twitter said.

In February, the three female band members were punished for the provocative stunt at Moscow's main cathedral in which they asked the Virgin Mary to deliver Russia from Putin, who was elected to a third term two weeks later.

Their trial caused an international furor, and small but raucous protests were held around the world when the women were convicted and sentenced.

The punishment of Pussy Riot has highlighted the crackdown on the opposition since Putin returned to the presidency in May.