Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Several activists from the Gaza-bound flotilla who were abducted by Israeli forces and later released said they were subjected to violence, mistreatment and deprivation while in Israeli custody. One activist said that female detainees were photographed shirtless. Some were also seen with visible signs of abuse on their bodies.
An Australian activist said detainees were subjected to violence, ill-treatment and deprivation in Israeli custody. He added some activists were shocked with tasers, beaten and denied food and water
Italian journalist Alessandro Mantovani said, “As soon as you entered the detention container, they started beating people. They kicked me and punched me in the face. Some detainees suffered broken arms and ribs while officers assaulted them saying: ‘Welcome to Israel.’”
“I also saw women being struck. This happens because Israel is protected by the governments of half of Europe, including our own,” Mantovani added.
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Italian politician Antonella Bundu said detainees were beaten, stripped and had belongings confiscated in Israeli custody. An activist said women’s hijabs were forcibly removed
Bundu said women were photographed shirtless during detention.
https://x.com/reuters/status/2057454646311153758?s=46&t=t_-JFgpXqgMIkVsuBfWELw
Turkish activist Omer Aslan, speaking after his return to Istanbul, said he was detained and beaten by Israeli forces during the interception of the Gaza-bound mission
"I was beaten by 27 Israeli soldiers. I could barely endure the torture for two days. We had no weapons. We carried conscience. We did not even have forks. They opened fire. Around 36 bullets were fired. One of our friends was hit in the nose.”
Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, denounced Israel after arriving in Istanbul following her detention. “This barbaric, cruel regime must be disbanded.”
“I’m back, but a part of me is still trapped in that container. They took our shoes, put a number on our wrists, and beat us savagely. Those seconds spent with our backs turned, hands in the air, not knowing what would happen, were the longest of my life,” Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, Dario Carotenuto, said.
https://x.com/dario5s/status/2057431555568513269?s=46&t=t_-JFgpXqgMIkVsuBfWELw
Some were also seen with visible signs of abuse on their bodies.
https://x.com/ihabhassane/status/2057512710170939733?s=46&t=t_-JFgpXqgMIkVsuBfWELw
A British activist, Sijaad Hussain, said, "They shot plastic bullets at us. There were injuries. They raided our boats. They took us to a large container ship and placed us there. It was very cold at night, very uncomfortable.”
British activist Katy Davidson said she had been tracked by drones and intense lights on a small boat when a large Israeli warship approached.
"They told us to move to the front of the boat. We sat peacefully but they insisted. Eventually they threatened: 'If you don't move to the front, we will open fire.' And yet we were in international waters and doing nothing illegal," she said.
After being detained, she was transferred to what she described as a "floating prison," then taken by boat to a temporary area constructed from containers.
"Barbed wire was everywhere, there were armed people surrounding us, and they treated us like animals," Davidson said. She said activists were forced to sleep on wet beds, some deliberately soaked, given limited food and water, and faced with officials who were "harsh and threatening."
Detainees were offered a choice between "leaving the country or being sent to prison in Israel."
Davidson called on the international community: "Everyone needs to respond to what happened, because this will not remain limited to Palestine, it will spread globally. Because they are Zionist and they don't care about anyone but themselves."
Australian doctor Bianca Webb-Pullman told AA that Israeli soldiers boarded the boat, pointing weapons at passengers.
"They bound everyone's hands and then took us to a naval ship on their boats. There they kept us in stress positions, things like kneeling on the ground for a long time. Then they put us in a courtyard with shipping containers and crammed 45 people into each container. We had no blankets," she said.
Webb-Pullman said that when flotilla members protested the detention of two flotilla committee members, soldiers "began beating and dragging flotilla members out of the boat."
She said: "Israel is committing genocide with impunity for two years, and now what they are doing is expanding their control zone. They don't just think they control Gaza, they seem to believe they now control the entire Mediterranean, and this cannot be tolerated. It is really very important for the Turkish government and world governments to take a strong stance on this."
Retired American emergency room physician John Francis Reuwer said, "Today I witnessed people who showed sensitivity to the suffering of others being treated like criminals. Every day, people who show sensitivity to children being killed, why are they treated like criminals, and why are those who kill children welcomed with respect?"
Reuwer said activists were forced to lie on the ground, made to kneel, and struck when they moved. "I was physically and psychologically affected," he said.
"We allow large countries like the U.S. and Israel to violate these rules every day. This weakens the international institutions that keep all of us safe and at peace. That is why we must force the U.S. and Israel to be held accountable," he added.
One unnamed activist quoted in the flotilla's statement described the violence: "As you can see, my nose is probably broken. My ribs hurt; maybe they are broken, too. I'm not sure. My neck as well. They kicked us, punched us, and dragged us on the ground, and we even heard shots being fired at people."
German Global Sumud activists also said detainees were subjected to violence and torture.
https://x.com/anadoluagency/status/2057521806370635791/video/1?s=46
