Flag desecration is the desecration of a flag , violation of flag protocol , or various acts that intentionally destroy, damage, or mutilate a flag in public. In the case of a national flag , such action is often intended to make a political point against a country or its policies. Some countries have laws against methods of destruction such as burning in public or forbidding particular uses such as for commercial purposes ; such laws may distinguish between the desecration of the country's own national flag and the desecration of flags of other countries.
Some countries have also banned the desecration of all types of flags from inside the country to other country flags. Actions that may be treated as the desecration of a flag include burning it, [ 2 ] urinating or defecating on it, defacing it with slogans , [ 2 ] stepping upon it, damaging it with stones; bullets; or any other projectile, cutting or ripping it, [ 2 ] improperly flying it, verbally insulting it, dragging it on the ground, [ 3 ] or eating it, among other things.
Flag desecration may be undertaken for a variety of reasons. It may be a protest against a country's foreign policy , including one's own, or the nature of the government in power there. It may be a protest against nationalism or a deliberate and symbolic insult to the people of the country represented by the flag.
It may also be a protest at the very laws prohibiting the act of desecrating a flag. In some countries, desecrating a flag is a crime and may result in punishment , such as a prison sentence or a fine. In countries where it is not, the act may still be prosecuted as disorderly conduct or arson or, if conducted on someone else's property, as theft or vandalism.
In Algeria, flag desecration is a crime. According to article bis of the Algerian penal code, the intentional and public shredding, distortion, or desecration of the national flag results in five to ten years of imprisonment as punishment. The Armenian criminal code punishes any insult to the flag as well as to the coat of arms and the national anthem with community service of up to two years or imprisonment of up to one year. Flag desecration is not, in itself, illegal in Australia. There have been several attempts to pass bills making flag burning illegal in Australia, none of which have yet been successful.
