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# Two Greek Tourists Arrested for Displaying Flag in Hagia Sophia
- URL: https://uoj.news/news/86917-two-greek-tourists-arrested-for-displaying-flag-in-hagia-sophia/
- Published: 2026-04-15T11:45:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-25T16:15:37.000Z
- Description: Two Greek tourists were detained in Constantinople after unfurling a Greek flag inside Hagia Sophia.
- Author: Tobias Straney
- Tags: #Category: News, hagia sophia, Constantinople, Protest

**CONSTANTINOPLE —** Two Greek tourists, a man and a woman, have been arrested in Istanbul after allegedly unfurling a [Greek flag](https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1300869/two-greeks-remanded-after-flag-incident-inside-hagia-sophia/?utm%5Fsource=dlvr.it&utm%5Fmedium=facebook&fbclid=IwVERFWARLZ1xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEekqdCunMwAbo7E7K2sdTFsppgU8YOoPexq34F9YXZx8svwCsACBcailPMCg8%5Faem%5FrJZbG7dN-pePDRMbM2V7Ow) inside Hagia Sophia and recording the act on video, according to Turkish media reports. The flag reportedly bore a double-headed Byzantine eagle and the inscription “Orthodoxy or death,” outlets said.

The incident reportedly occurred on April 9 inside the historic monument, originally built in 537 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into a mosque, later becoming a museum in 1934 under Atatürk before being reconverted into a mosque in 2020, Turkish reports said.

[![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2025/08/86917-two-greek-tourists-arrested-for-displaying-flag-in-hagia-sophia-image-8554fc279c36.jpg)On this topicAttempted Arson at Hagia Sophia Quickly Contained, Suspect in Custody](https://uoj.news/news/84945-attempted-arson-at-hagia-sophia-quickly-contained-suspect-in-custody/)

Security camera footage released to Turkish media shows officials attempting to intervene. Authorities detained the pair at a hotel, launched an investigation, and brought them before a court, where they were remanded on charges of “insulting a section of the public,” reports said. No injuries were reported during incident.

Previously, the [UOJ reported](https://uoj.news/news/84845-elpidophoros-hagia-sophia-still-a-house-of-incarnation/) that Abp. Elpidophoros stated that Hagia Sophia still remained a house of Incarnation.