The Kozhikode Town Police in Kerala on Sunday, 7 January, arrested six students of Farook College in Kozhikode for allegedly sticking pro-Palestine posters at a Starbucks outlet in the city. They were released on bail on the same day, the police said.
What happened? The students were members of the student organisation, Fraternity Movement. They had put up posters that read 'Free Palestine', 'Ceasefire now', and 'Caution: Contents may fund genocide'.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered based on a complaint by the store manager of the Starbucks outlet under Sections 448 (trespassing), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot), 427 (causing damage), and 34 (crime committed with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, as per the police.
Speaking to The Quint, Meharin, one of the students who was arrested, said:
"We had launched a boycotting campaign as part of Fraternity Movement's 'Falasteen Week'. Six of us went to put up posters at Starbucks on Thursday (4 January) to raise awareness about the genocide. The Starbucks staffers removed the posters immediately. It was a peaceful protest and we left the spot soon after."
Meharin, the secretary of Fraternity's Farook College unit, added that the six students were asked by the police to report at the station on Sunday. They were arrested and released on bail a few hours later.
And then? Condemning their arrest, the Fraternity Movement took out a rally on Sunday night towards the Starbucks outlet, where police personnel were stationed.
The organisation said on Facebook: "We protest the police action of arresting Farook College unit leaders of the Fraternity Movement who protested in front of Starbucks, Kozhikode, as part of the worldwide BDS movement in solidarity with the Palestinian people."
Why were the posters allegedly put up? The purported posters were allegedly put up at the Starbucks outlet as part of the global BDS or 'Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions' movement against companies allegedly supporting Israel, amid its ongoing war on Gaza.
The American coffee chain had recently come under fire after it filed a lawsuit against Starbucks Workers United (the company's workers' union) for putting up a post on social media in solidarity with Palestine on 9 October.
While the company said that the pro-Palestinian post from its union account put a dent in its reputation and angered customers, the union filed a suit in response, saying the coffee chain defamed the union by implying that it condones violence.
(This story has been updated since its publishing on 8 January.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)