A founding member of the Ukrainian feminist protest group Femen, Oksana Shachko, has been found dead in her apartment in Paris, Femen said today.

"RIP. The most fearless and vulnerable Oksana Shachko has left us.

"We mourn together with her relatives and friends and expect for the official version from the police.

"At the moment it is known, that yesterday, July 23, Oksana’s body was found in her apartment in Paris," it said on its official blog.

Since it was founded in Kiev in 2008, the Femen movement has won notoriety in Europe for its stands - usually topless - against sex tourism, homophobia and religious institutions.

- Reuters