A regional court charged six volleyball players from the Cuban national team of raping a woman in Finland before the Rio Olympics.

Media and police officers stand at the Pirkanmaa district court where a hearing for the case of six Cuban volleyball players suspected of an aggravated rape takes place in Tampere, Finland July 5th 2016.
Media and police officers stand at the Pirkanmaa district court where a hearing for the case of six Cuban volleyball players suspected of an aggravated rape takes place in Tampere, Finland July 5th 2016. (TRT World and Agencies)

A regional court charged six volleyball players from the Cuban national team of raping a woman in Finland, regional prosecutors said in a statement on Tuesday.

The rape took place in a hotel in the Finnish city of Tampere, 170 kilometers north of the capital Helsinki, as the team was there to compete in the World League tournament in July.

Police had arrested eight players over the weekend following the woman's complaint, but released two of them saying they were not connected to the alleged crime.

All six men have denied the charge.

Despite the detention of their players, the Cuban team decided to compete in the Rio Olympic team but lost all their games.

Shortly after the accusations against the players, Cuba's national volleyball federation said in a statement in July that it's "very concerned by the alleged serious misconduct" adding that unspecified "measures" against those suspects would be taken.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies