Femen activists protest in Paris in support of Tunisian woman

12:27

Activists from the Femen women's right movement have staged a protest near the Venus de Milo statue inside Paris's Louvre on October 3 demanding to stop the prosecution of a woman in Tunisia, Mariam, who was allegedly raped by police officers and later accused of immoral conduct.

According to Femen's press service, several topless activists of the movement placed a poster reading "Rape Me, I'm Immoral" near the armless statue and chanted "We Have Hands to Stop Rape!"

"In the name of the Venus, we are calling on all women of the world to create a from to resistance and to prevent the punishment of the innocent victim of Tunisian savages. We have hands to stop this," Femen said.

The women's movement said the abuse of Mariam by Tunisian policemen was genocide against women, and the trial on the victims as "the abuse of the basic principles of the mankind."

Femen stated that the actions of the Tunisian authorities in the case represented Islamic degradation.

Femen demanded that the Tunisian authorities stopped the persecution of Mariam and hold a public trial on the rapists.

As reported, on August 17, 2012 Femen activists saw down a cross in central Kyiv near the International Center for Culture and Arts (Zhovtnevy Palace). In such a way they expressed their support for Russia's Pussy Riot band.

Soon after that the leader of Femen, Inna Shevchenko, left Ukraine for France. According to the movement's press service, Shevchenko decided to leave the country due to "the toughening of pressure of the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] and the Russian Orthodox Church."

Femen was officially registered as an international women's movement in France.

Femen also announced that they had set up "an international training camp for organization of sex attacks" in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. On the occasion of the opening of the camp several activists of the movement marched topless in the streets of the French capital. The activists had feminist slogans written on their half-naked bodies and they had traditional Ukrainian hairstyles decorated with many-colored flowers and ribbons.