Dan Wolken

USA TODAY Sports

SOCHI, Russia — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, told USA TODAY Sports by phone that members of the band were beaten with whips by Cossack militia members outside a downtown Sochi restaurant Wednesday.

The incident occurred roughly 24 hours after she, bandmate Maria Alyokhina and more than 10 others were detained for questioning by police over an alleged theft at a Sochi hotel.

Tolokonnikova said the group was about to perform when they were jumped.

Others witnessed the incident, including VICE News reporter Simon Ostrovsky, who said on Twitter he videotaped it.

According to The Associated Press, six group members — five women and one man — had put on their signature ski masks and were pulling out a guitar and microphone when at least 10 Cossacks and other security officials moved in. One Cossack appeared to use pepper spray, another whipped several group members while others ripped off their masks and threw the guitar in a garbage can, the news agency reported.

The group's attorney,Alexander Popkov, told USA TODAY Sports by phone that three members of the group had been hospitalized to treat injuries from the attack. Pussy Riot had chosen that location to film for a music video, he said.

Around 10 p.m. local time, Alyokhina tweeted a photo of Tolokonnikova and said: "Lying with Nadya on beds next to each other in a hospital."

Earlier, Alyokhina tweeted a photo of a man, who participated in the action, with a bloody cut over his left eye.

The AP reported the altercation lasted less than three minutes.

The 24-year-old Tolokonnikova and 25-year-old Alyokhina were released Dec. 23 following a 21-month imprisonment for a protest performance in a Moscow cathedral that led to charges of hooliganism and blasphemy.

On Tuesday, Tolokonnikova sent a series of tweets detailing the duo's activities in Sochi and revealed that they also had been detained for about seven hours on Sunday and 10 hours on Monday, when they were held by the FSB, the Federal Security Service.

Tolokonnikova said she and Alyokhina were in Sochi to carry out a Pussy Riot action _ the song "Putin will teach you to love the motherland."