Turkish flag hoisted by mistake in Tunisia leads to four arrests

On Wednesday September 11, local media reported the arrest of four individuals in Tunisia for mistakenly displaying the Turkish flag instead of the Tunisian flag on a government building. The identities and roles of those arrested have not been disclosed.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when the Turkish flag was raised over the headquarters of the state railway company SNFCT. The flag’s resemblance to the Tunisian flag, both featuring red and white with crescent moons and stars, led to widespread social media commentary and irony.
The SNFCT issued an apology, explaining that the error happened because they had ordered several flags in bulk. The mistake went unnoticed until the flag was raised.
In response, the Ministry of Transport has launched an investigation to determine accountability and enforce administrative and regulatory sanctions, as Tunisia approaches its presidential elections on October 6.
This incident follows a similar controversy in May when nine people, including the president of the Tunisian Swimming Federation (FTN) and the head of the Tunisian Anti-Doping Agency (Anad), faced prosecution after the Tunisian flag was obscured at a swimming competition. The flag was covered due to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ban related to Tunisia’s non-compliance with anti-doping regulations. The flag’s absence angered President Kais Saied, who visited the venue to ensure the flag was displayed and subsequently dismissed the FTN president and Anad director.