CLAIM
A video showing burqa-clad women, chained and kneeling in the midst of a road with their hands tied behind their back, as three or more men shout out rates to onlookers is viral on social media with the claim that Hindu women are lured by ‘love jihad’ and then taken to Syria and sold or auctioned.
The message, which is in Malayalam reads: “ഇന്ത്യയിൽ നിന്നും മത തീവ്രവാദികളായ ലൗ ജീഹാദികളുടെ പിടിയിലായ ഹിന്ദു ക്രീസ്തൻ പെൺക്കുട്ടികളെ സിറിയായിൽ പെതുസ്ഥലത്ത് വെച്ച് ലേലം ചെയ്യ്തു വീൽക്കുന്നു..
ഹിന്ദു ക്രീസ്തൻ പെൺക്കുട്ടികളെ ജീഹാദികൾ പ്രണയം നടിച്ച് സിറിയായിൽ എന്തിന് കൊണ്ട് പോകുന്നു..? 29വയസ് ക്രീസ്തൻ പെൺകുട്ടിയുടെ വില 50 ഡോളർ 15വയസ് ഹിന്ദു പെൺക്കുട്ടിയുടെ വില 300 ഡോളർ അത് അവർ തന്നെ യൂറ്റുബിൽ പ്രചരിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.. ഇത്രയും വിശദമായ തെളിവുകൾ ഉണ്ടായിട്ടും നമ്മുടെ സഹോദരിമാർ എങ്ങനെയാണ് ഈ മത വർഗ്ഗിയ തിവ്രവാദികളുടെ പിടിയിൽ ആകുന്നു.. ഇനിയെങ്കിലും ചിന്തിക്കുക..”
(Translated: Indian Hindu, Christian girls who were trapped by Love Jihad religious terrorists are being auctioned off in a public place in Syria. Why do they pretend to be in love with these Hindu, Christian girls and take them to Syria? The price of a 29 year old Christian girl is 50 dollars, a 15 year old Hindu girl costs 300 dollars. Then they propagate it on YouTube. In spite of such elaborate proof, how do our sisters get trapped by these terrorists? Time to think...)
The video has been shared widely on Facebook.
The Quint also received a query regarding the same video on its WhatsApp helpline.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The video is not from Syria, and neither is it that of an actual sex slave auction. The video is originally from London and is from 2014, The Quint has found.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT?
By running a reverse search on one of the key-frames from the video, it was ascertained that the video is that of a protest that was staged in London in 2014.
According to Huffington Post, the video actually shows Kurdish protestors who staged a slave trade auction to "show the reality of IS's slave trade of captured women in Syria and Iraq."
Speaking to Newsweek, one of protestors said the protest was intended to provoke an “aggravated reaction, highlighting the crimes ISIS are committing in Iraq and Syria.”
“What we wanted to show is that this could take place in London,” he told NewsWeek.
Incidentally, British political party Britain First had shared the video on its Facebook page with the misleading caption: "London Muslims auctioning women on the streets of our capital", in 2016. The video was then debunked by Snopes.
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