Vatican releases Femen activist who took St Peter’s Square Jesus statue
The Vatican has released a Ukrainian activist who bared her breasts in St. Peter’s Square on Christmas Day and snatched the statue of the baby Jesus from the Vatican’s outdoor nativity scene.
Vatican spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi said the Vatican prosecutor met with Yana Zhdanova on Saturday and decided to order her freed. She was also ordered to never set foot again in Vatican City state, including St. Peter’s Basilica, or on other Vatican property outside the city state’s walls.
The Femen protester shouted “God is woman” when she uncovered her chest in the square on Thursday, about an hour after Pope Francis had greeted and blessed tens of thousands of faithful. A Vatican guard then covered her chest with his cloak and took her into Vatican custody.