Dutch nationals holidaying on the island of Rhodes have reportedly been arrested after they stole a large Greek flag from its mast on a castle and wrote anti-Greek slogans.
The three Dutch tourists were arrested a day after the incident on Friday afternoon and charged with insulting a national symbol and theft.
The three defendants confessed to the offence, claiming they did it all for fun after an alcohol fuelled night on their way to Haraki from a party night at Faliraki beach at about 5.30 am.
They went to their room, got a bread knife, went up to the castle, removed the flag by cutting the ropes and hid it in the closet of their room.
They also said they had no intention of taking the flag with them to Holland and did it as a joke because they were drunk.
According to dimokratiki.gr, they said that they ha don intention of insulting the national symbol of Greece or break any law and that the next day when they woke up, they realized that they had made a stupid mistake but did not know how to return the flag.
The three told officers they were drunk and did not understand what they were doing.
The three offenders were released at 20:30 on Friday following a verbal order from the Prosecutor’s Office.
The 28-square-metre Greek flag was only recently raised at the medieval fortress “Feraclos” or the “Faraklenon Castle”, located at 85 meters overlooking Haraki on the east coast of the island of Rhodes only last week on the initiative of local singer Giorgos Giannias last Tuesday.
