Six jailed in Tunisia for hoisting Turkish flag on govt building

Six Tunisians have been sentenced to four months in prison after Turkey’s similar red-and-white flag was raised over a government building instead of the national flag, Tunisian media reported Friday.

Footage circulated online earlier this month showed the Turkish flag flying over the Tunis headquarters of the national railway company SNCFT.

The two flags have the same colours and both bear the Islamic symbols of a star and crescent, with the most noticeable difference being a white circle on the Tunisian one.

Tunisia flag

Turkey flag

SNCFT had issued an apology for the mix-up, saying the Turkish flag had been purchased by mistake and that staff “didn’t notice until it was raised”.

In May, the covering of the national flag at a sporting event in Tunis, due to sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency, led to the arrests of three officials.

The sports officials faced charges including “attacking the flag of Tunisia” and “plotting against the internal security” of the state and were released last week after a three-month sentence.

The incident angered Tunisian President Kais Saied, who has been readying for the October 6 election which he is widely expected to win.

Photos from the May flag incident showed Kais in tears during a visit to the venue.

AFP

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