Femen Activists Face Jail Time In Turkey For 'Ban Erdogan' Protest

Femen activists chant slogans as they protest against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a polling station during local elections in Istanbul on March 30, 2014. Turkish citizens voted Sunday in local elections seen as a referendum on the rule of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan after turbulent months of mass protests, corruption scandals and Internet blocks. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images) | AFP/Getty Images

Two members of the women's movement Femen are facing jail time in Turkey for a protest against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to local reports.

The topless activists briefly disrupted municipal elections in March when they entered a polling station in Istanbul, where the prime minister was expected to vote. With "Ban Erdogan" written across their breasts, the two women stood on a table and yelled out the slogan to protest the criticized leader's reign.

The Femen members were arrested after the stunt and detained by Turkish police. Annie Assouan, 24, and 26-year-old Elvire Duvelle-Charles -- both reportedly French citizens -- are now facing between one and three years behind bars for the brazen public protest, an indictment reviewed by the Dogan News Agency said.

Inna Shevchenko, a Ukrainian activist and leader of the women's movement, shared the news on Twitter.

One of the activists, Duvelle-Charles, also took to the social network after the indictment was made public.

It has been more than a year since protests against Erdogan and the Turkish government broke out across the country. On the one-year anniversary of the nationwide demonstrations Saturday, Turkish police used tear gas on supporters of the opposition who had gathered in Istanbul and Ankara.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/05/femen-activists-jail-turkey-ban-erdogan-protest_n_5454321.html