By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Kiev : Four women activists were arrested Tuesday for staging a topless protest near Ukrainian capital Kiev’s main sports arena during a visit by UEFA chief Michel Platini.
The demonstration – “Euro without prostitution” – was held as Ukraine along with Poland prepares to host the 2012 European Football Championship. Platini arrived in Ukraine Monday for a two-day inspection of the facilities.
Police arrived at the Olympiisky National Sports Complex and detained the activists, who are members of the Femen group.
Topless protests have been organised on many occasions by Femen activists, most of whom are university students, to attract public attention to various domestic and international problems.
“Femen demands that UEFA initiate an explanatory campaign for football fans about the impermissibility of sex tourism and funding the sex industry, and the Ukrainian authorities criminalise the visiting of prostitutes,” the group said in a statement.
Prostitution in Ukraine is illegal but reports say the country remains one of the main suppliers of prostitutes to Western Europe. In 2005, Ukraine toughened penalties for human trafficking and forced prostitution.