Two members of Pussy Riot claim they have been arrested near the Sochi Winter Olympics on theft charges.

Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who were recently released from prison after being found guilty of hooliganism, say they were detained on Tuesday (February 18).

Tolokonnikova wrote on Twitter: "We have been arrested...and are accused of robbery."

She added: "At the time of our detention, we weren't engaged in any protests, we were walking around Sochi. WE WERE WALKING."

This year's Winter Olympics have come under fire for the country's laws on gay rights, which prohibits people from promoting homosexuality to youths.

Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were part of Russian punks Pussy Riot, who performed an anti-Vladimir Putin protest song in a Moscow church in 2012.