Brazilian Scene: Topless in Rio

On the relaxed summer beaches of Rio de Janeiro, nobody glances twice when a woman parades by in a microscopic bikini or wriggles out of her top to sunbathe. But last month pet-shop assistant Rosemeri da Costa, 34, was tanning herself topless on Recreio beach when a shadow fell across her towel. She looked up and saw a gang of policemen armed with truncheons standing over her. In a spasm of puritanism, the police had decided to enforce a 70-year-old law against immorality. They demanded that Da Costa slip back into her top. When she refused, the police dragged her away...

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