Women on trial for topless tan

2008-10-31 20:15

Warsaw - Two young Polish women on Friday went on trial for indecent exposure after they sunbathed topless, a practice which is extremely rare in this deeply Catholic country.

The women, aged 26 and 28, fell foul of the law in their hometown of Szczecin, on Poland's northwestern Baltic coast, as they took in the May sunshine on a local beach.

They were busted by a passing police patrol after they refused to put their bikini tops back on, and found themselves in court when failed to pay a fine of 150 zlotys.

The case of the two women - one of whom is a glamour model and has appeared topless in Polish men's magazines - sparked such massive media interest that a first hearing in September had to be postponed when too many reporters turned up to fit into the court gallery.

The women have pleaded not guilty, arguing there was no explicit ban on going topless at the beach.

They also said fellow sunbathers had not been offended, noting that many had jumped to their defence when the police officers - all male - took them to task.

If found guilty, the women face a fine of 1 500 zlotys.

The court is due to deliver its verdict on November 7.

- AFP