Eight more people detained over ‘banana-eating’ videos

Click to read the article in Turkish

Having posted videos of themselves while eating bananas in protest against the targeting remarks of a person in a street interview in İstanbul, eight more people have been detained to be deported.

During a street interview for a YouTube channel (Kanal Dünya) on October 17, a citizen targeted Syrians and said, "I cannot eat bananas." In protest, several people shared videos of themselves while eating bananas. Eight more of these people have been taken into custody.

The eight people were detained in İzmir province; one person was sent to the Juvenile Branch Directorate as s/he was younger than 18.

Following the related formalities at the security directorate, the detained have been sent to the provincial migration authority to be deported as "foreign persons who threatened the public order and security".

CLICK - Seven refugees to be deported over 'banana' videos

CLICK - Deporting migrants over 'banana-eating videos' is a crime

What happened?

Turkey's migration authority, the General Directorate of Migration Management, has announced that seven refugees have been detained for "provocative social media posts" and will soon be deported.

During a street interview in İstanbul, a man claimed that refugees are financially more comfortable than locals and said, "I can't [afford] bananas. They buy kilos of them." There was also a refugee woman among the interviewed, who said, "I'm a Syrian, too. I'm a student here. If there wasn't a war in Syria, we wouldn't have to come here. There is nothing we can do."

After this video went viral, several refugees shared videos while eating bananas. The police started working to identify everyone who shared such videos on social media, the Directorate said. It did not provide further reason for the deportation of the refugees. (RT/SD)