 On March 3 , 2012 , two of the group members , Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina , were arrested and charged with hooliganism . A third member , Yekaterina Samutsevich , was arrested on March 16 . Denied bail , they were held in custody until their trial began in late July . On August 17 , 2012 , the three members were convicted of " hooliganism motivated by religious hatred " , and each was sentenced to two years ' imprisonment . Two other members of the group , who escaped arrest after the February protest , reportedly left Russia fearing prosecution . On October 10 , following an appeal , Samutsevich was freed on probation and her sentence suspended . The sentences of the other two women were upheld . In late October 2012 , Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were sent to separate prisons . 
