Man arrested in India for Facebook appeal to hoist Palestine flag

Muslim man held in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district for asking people to put Palestinian flag on houses and vehicles.

Police in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh have arrested a Muslim man who had appealed on social media to hoist the Palestinian flag on homes and vehicles in a show of solidarity against the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Azamgarh district’s senior superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Singh told Al Jazeera that they have arrested the man, identified as Yasir Akhtar, after he posted a message on his Facebook page, calling residents in his Saraimeer village to display the flag after the congregational prayers on Friday. “He was running a page and he made the message viral through Facebook that after Friday prayers, people should hoist the flags on their vehicles and homes,” Singh said, adding that “the man has been arrested and sent to jail.