British tourist arrested in Alanya for spitting on Turkish flag

Turkish police arrested a British tourist on Wednesday in the southern resort of Alanya over an alleged act of spitting on the Turkish flag, according to reports from the Turkish news agencies DHA and IHA.

The agencies said the 58-year-old man had an argument with hotel staff before turning and spitting on a flag displayed in the hotel lobby. The exact timing of the incident was not specified.

Hotel employees reported the matter to police, who detained the man and brought him before the Alanya courthouse. He was formally arrested on charges of insulting or degrading a symbol of the Turkish state and subsequently remanded in custody, before being transferred to a prison just outside the city.

There has been no immediate comment from the British embassy regarding the case.

A strict legal provision

Under Article 300 of Turkey's penal code, publicly disrespecting the national flag is a criminal offence that can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

This is not the first such case in the country. In August 2025, prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into a tourist from Bosnia and Herzegovina who performed a pole dance on a Turkish flagpole in Cappadocia and posted footage of it on social media. The outcome of that investigation has not been made public.