Hindu nationalist government in India arrests Muslim children and men for Palestine solidarity posters urging boycott of Israeli products

By Abdullahi Yusuf

Police in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh have arrested and detained multiple Muslim individuals — including two minors — for allegedly putting up posters calling for a boycott of Israeli goods in protest of the war in Gaza.

In Bareilly, 17-year-old Aqib and 14-year-old Mohammad Tahseen were taken into custody on April 21, a day after they posted images of Gaza solidarity posters on social media. 

The posters featured the logos of multinational brands linked to Israeli military suppliers, along with a message in Urdu that read, “He who does not boycott Israeli goods will be a murderer of Gaza’s innocent children.”

According to Tahseen’s father, Mohammad Talib, police officers forcibly entered their home and seized the boy while he was playing on the terrace. 

“When I went to the police station later that night to give him food, I found him crying,” Talib told The Observer Post. 

“He said a policeman and his friend — both drunk — beat and abused him and insulted his mother and sister.”

Aqib’s brother also urged authorities to release the boys, emphasizing that they were minors acting out of humanitarian concern.

In a separate incident in Sambhal district, police arrested seven Muslim men after similar posters with the slogans “Free Gaza, Free Palestine” appeared on shop walls in Narauli town.

The posters called on Muslims to boycott Israeli-affiliated products and equated supporting such goods to violating Islamic tenets. 

“If you buy Israeli food and drink items, they are as forbidden as eating pork or drinking alcohol,” one of the posters read.

Another stated, “If we cannot cry after seeing the plight of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, then remember that we are dead.”

Sambhal police said the arrests were made based on CCTV footage and information from shop owners. 

The arrested individuals have been identified as Asim, Saif Ali, Rahees, Matloob, Fardeen, Arman, and Arbaz. Authorities have not disclosed what charges have been filed against them.

The arrests are part of a broader pattern of repression in Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Hindu supremacist monk Yogi Adityanath — a political figure notorious for inciting anti-Muslim hatred, unleashing police violence, and weaponizing state machinery against India’s largest minority. 

Under his regime, peaceful dissent is often met with brutality, and expressions of Muslim identity or solidarity are criminalized.

The arrests also coincide with a growing global boycott movement against Israeli products, as Israel’s military assault on Gaza continues to kill thousands. 

According to recent estimates, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with the enclave still under near-total blockade.