Six Tunisians jailed for flying the wrong national flag

Six Tunisians were sentenced to four months in prison after mistakenly raising Turkey’s red-and-white flag instead of the Tunisian flag over a government building, AFP reports citing Tunisian media. The flags are similar, both featuring the Islamic symbols of a star and crescent, but the Tunisian flag has a distinctive white circle. The mix-up occurred at the Tunis headquarters of the national railway company, SNCFT, which apologized, stating the Turkish flag had been purchased by mistake. 

Earlier in May, a separate flag incident led to the arrest of three sports officials after the Tunisian flag was covered at an event due to World Anti-Doping Agency sanctions. They faced charges including "attacking the flag" and were released last week after a three-month sentence. The incidents angered President Kais Saied, who was photographed in tears while visiting the sports venue from the May incident.