A British holidaymaker has been detained in Turkey after allegedly spitting on a Turkish flag hanging in a hotel lobby following a heated dispute with staff, with a Turkish court ordering his pre-trial detention on charges of insulting the symbols of state sovereignty.
A British man has been detained in Turkey after allegedly spitting on a Turkish flag during a dispute with hotel staff. The holidaymaker, believed to be Stephen Kerr, 58, had been staying at a resort in Alanya’s Dinek neighbourhood, within Turkey’s southern Antalya province, when the incident unfolded. According to Turkish reports, Kerr became involved in a heated argument with hotel employees before spitting on the Turkish flag hanging in the lobby. The reason for the dispute has not been publicly established, with Turkish authorities so far describing its cause as unknown.
How the arrest unfolded
Hotel employees physically detained Kerr themselves before contacting the authorities, after which officers from the Alanya Police Department’s Security Bureau took him into custody. Kerr was taken to Alanya District Police Headquarters, where his statement was recorded with the assistance of an interpreter, before he was transferred to court.
At court, Kerr was formally brought before a criminal judgeship of peace, which ordered his pre-trial detention, meaning he has been remanded in custody while the case proceeds, rather than having received a final custodial sentence. He has since been transferred to Alanya L-Type Closed Prison.
Multiple Turkish outlets have independently reported the arrest, including DHA and İHA-sourced reporting alongside local Antalya media, all confirming the same sequence of events: a dispute with hotel staff, the alleged spitting on the flag, detention by hotel employees, police custody, an interpreter-assisted statement, a court appearance, and an order for his continued detention. The exact date of the alleged incident itself has not been disclosed, though the reports were published on 9 September.
The charge he faces
Kerr has been charged with an offence Turkish reports describe using the wording “Devletin egemenlik alametlerini aşağılama,” which translates approximately as “insulting the symbols of state sovereignty.” Under Turkish law, disrespecting the national flag carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years.
Foreign Office response
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting a British man arrested in Turkey and are in contact with the authorities.” The Sun has contacted the British Embassy in Turkey for further comment. The British Embassy’s own website states that it is unable to secure the release of individuals from prison, even where they are British citizens.
Part of a pattern of similar cases
This is not the first case of its kind involving British visitors to Turkey. Last summer, a tourist was criticised by prosecutors after pole dancing on a Turkish flag mast in Cappadocia, a region well known for its hot air balloon excursions.
Separately, earlier this year, a young British man was arrested and jailed for nearly a decade after arriving at Istanbul Airport carrying drugs. Taylor Johnson, 20, was reportedly caught smuggling 19kg of cannabis in vacuum-sealed bags from Thailand. Johnson claimed he had been forced to transport the bags by a man who had threatened him, and said he had not known drugs were concealed inside. Despite this, a court in Istanbul sentenced him to nine years and two months in prison. Family members have since said Johnson was placed in an overcrowded cell and assaulted by other inmates while in custody.
