Femen Activists Freed From Tunisian Jail

Activists from the women's movement Femen demonstrate in Tunis on May 29. They shouted "Free Amina," in reference to the young Tunisian woman imprisoned for protesting against hard-line Islamists and awaiting trial for illegally possessing pepper spray.

A Tunisian court has released three European feminist activists of the Femen group who were jailed for staging a topless protest in Tunis and they have left the country.

The women, two French and one German, flew to Paris on June 27 following their release from prison.

The three women apologized during their appeal hearing on June 26, and the court suspended the four-month sentences they had been given earlier this month for indecency.

The trio had removed their tops during a May 29 protest calling for the release from prison of a Tunisian woman activist.

The protest against Tunisia's Islamist-led government was described as the first of its kind in the Middle East by the Ukrainian-founded Femen organization, which has used nudity to pressure for greater rights for women.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP