CLAIM
An image circulating on social media claims that people in Saudi Arabia held a demonstration against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where they raised shoes to protest against the alleged atrocities on Indian Muslims.
The claim along with the image reads: “सऊदी अरब में मोदी के खिलाफ जूते चप्पल के साथ सड़कों पर उतरे लोग हिंदुस्तान के मुस्लिमों के साथ हो रहे अत्त्याचार ओर 3 तलाक़ के बहाने शरीयत के साथ छेड़छाड़ की कोशिश के विरोध में मोदी के पोस्टर को दिखाए जूते चप्पल”
(Translated: In Saudi Arabia, people took to the streets with shoes to protest against Modi against the atrocities on Indian Muslims and for attempting to tamper with the Sharia law on the pretext of triple talaq.)
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim that comes with the image is false. Firstly, the image is not from Saudi Arabia, but Kuwait. Secondly, the image has been doctored to further a certain narrative. The original image shows Russian President Vladimir Putin and not Narendra Modi and dates back to 14 December 2016.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On reverse searching the image on Yandex, we found a tweet and a news report published by Al Etihad Press on 14 December 2016.
Both the tweet and the news report carried the same image, but they didn’t have Modi’s picture on the poster, rather the image of Vladimir Putin.
The news report further claimed that the image is from Kuwait where a demonstration was held outside the Russian embassy to protest against the situation in Syria’s Aleppo.
We found that the original image was also uploaded by Getty Images which is attributed to news agency AFP.
The caption along with the image reads: “A protestor holds a poster of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a demonstration outside the Russian embassy to condemn Moscow's support of the Syrian regime besieging rebel-held Aleppo on 14 December 2016 in Kuwait City. “
KUWAITIS RAISED SLOGANS, SHOES OUTSIDE RUSSIAN EMBASSY
Several citizens took to streets and gathered outside the embassies area to protest against the situation in Aleppo, Arab Times reported.
The report further mentioned that citizens raised slogans, asked for intervention of the international community, raised shoes “towards the Russian embassy as a sign of protest.”
According to Arab Times, in December 2016, in a statement, an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said, “The State of Kuwait, which has followed up with deep concern and pain, the tragic conditions experienced by our Syrian brethren in Aleppo, has called on the international community, namely the Security Council, to shoulder its historic responsibility and halt the blood-letting, protect the civilians and dispatch humanitarian aid into the city.”
(With inputs from Arab Times)
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