Topless Pro-Gay Protesters Arrested in Morocco

Photo: Yassine Toumi/Femen

Authorities in Morocco arrested and expelled two women for appearing topless at a historical site in protest of the country's treatment of gays, ABC News reports.

The two activists are part of Femen, a French feminist group. They arrived on Tuesday morning at the Tour Hassan site, where the tomb of King Mohammed V is located. They removed their tops to reveal "In Gay We Trust" written on their bare chests, before embracing in a kiss for the media.

"Those involved were arrested by the police of Rabat International Airport following the filming of obscene sequences at the Tour Hassan esplanade," a statement from the Ministry of Interior said.

Although security was not present at the time of the protest, the two protesters were later arrested and convicted of obscenity charges, for which they were sentenced to four months in prison.

Their sentences were appealed, and the two women were banned from Morocco. Homosexuality is illegal in Morocco, but the law is rarely enforced.

Femen, which describes itself as a group of sextremists, atheists, and feminists, is known for using similar tactics in the past. Members of the group were arrested in 2013 while protesting topless in front of a courthouse in Tunisia, where they were criticizing the imprisonment of one of their members.