Affiliated with the Fraternity Movement, the students of Farook College in Kozhikode district were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Six Muslim students, including four girls, were arrested in Kerala for sticking posters favouring Palestinians who are suffering at the hands of marauding Israeli forces.
The student activists were sticking pro-Palestine posters on a Starbucks store near a beach in the state’s coastal city of Kozhikode.
Affiliated with the Fraternity Movement, the students of Farook College in Kozhikode district were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, media reports reaching here said on Monday.
Police have also seized the car in which the students travelled.
The students are accused of allegedly sticking “Free Palestine” and “Caution Contents May Fund Genocide” posters on the glass door of the Starbucks store.
Waseem Mansoor, leader of Fraternity Movement Farook College, said the group intended to make a video on brands that are backing the genocidal war on Gaza and the actions caused no property damage or provocation.
Media reports quoted the students as saying that the posters were instantly removed by the staffers at the store. “The staffers did not stop the students initially,” they said.
Responding to the case, Fraternity Movement Kerala State Vice President Labeeb Kayakodi said the charges are ramped up by police for no reason. “Call for boycott are not call for rioting. They clearly know these were students but they still went on to invoke rioting charges,” Ali was quoted as saying. He also warned of a state-wide boycott if cases against the students are not withdrawn.
