Ukrainian feminist group Femen have accused the police of planting explosives and a gun during a raid on their Kyiv headquarters in a bid to close down their organisation.

Femen specialise in shock bare-breast appearances to highlight women's rights causes, mainly in the male-dominated hierarchies of Russia and its former Soviet allies.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has been a particular target for Femen's protests since the prosecution of the Russian female punk group Pussy Riot last year.

A police statement said a group of explosives experts were sent to Femen's headquarters in central Kyiv after an anonymous phone call. Objects resembling a second world war pistol and grenade were found during a search, it said.

Officers at the scene said they had also found leaflets showing the profiles of Putin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill pictured in snipers' cross-hairs.

Femen activists denounced the police finds as plants.

"They arrived on the scene and told us we had to get out of the building because there was a report of bombs. We left for two or three minutes. Then they called us back and said they had found these objects," said Anna Gutsol, one of Femen's leaders. "They say they found these things. But guns, narcotics and suchlike are not things that we have. It's absurd," she said, describing the police action as a "provocation" likely to lead to further action to curb Femen's activities.

"The mere fact that the police had a 'special group' there within seconds shows the whole thing was prepared," said Gutsol.

Femen's leaders and activists were questioned by police and the group's headquarters was sealed off. No one was immediately arrested or charged, although Gutsol said in a text message to journalists that police appeared to be preparing formally to arrest them.

Via: theguardian.com

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