Swedish Foreign Ministry Confirms Greta Thunberg Faced Harsh Treatment in Israeli Detention
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- The Swedish Foreign Ministry has reportedly said that activist Greta Thunberg is being subjected to harsh treatment while in Israeli detention, including insufficient food and water, after being abducted by Israeli forces from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
In an email sent by the Swedish foreign ministry to people close to Thunberg, and seen by the Guardian, an official who has visited the activist in prison said she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water.
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” reads the email. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the Swedish ministry’s official added.
At least two other members of the flotilla who had been detained by Israeli forces and released on Saturday also said Thunberg is being mistreated.
“They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist Ersin Çelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.
Lorenzo D’Agostino, a journalist and another flotilla participant, said after returning to Istanbul that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy” – a scene described with disbelief and anger by those who witnessed it.
The mission, one of the largest aid missions to attempt to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, began with more than 50 vessels representing at least 44 countries, carrying some 500 international activists.
Between Thursday and Friday, as the flotilla approached the enclave, Israeli naval forces boarded the boats, cut off communications, jammed signals, and abducted the activists, forcing them to Israel for deportation.
However, according to the organizers, about 461 activists from over 40 countries are still detained by Israeli forces. Most of them are being held at Ketziot, also known as Ansar III, a high-security prison in the Naqab Desert.
According to lawyers from the NGO Adalah, the rights of the crew members have been “systematically violated”, activists denied water, sanitation, medication and immediate access to their legal representatives “in clear breach of their fundamental rights to due process, impartial trial and legal representation”.
The Italian legal team representing the flotilla confirmed those detained were left “for hours without food or water – until late last night”, with the exception of “a packet of crisps handed to Greta and shown to the cameras”. Lawyers also reported instances of verbal and physical abuse.
Moreover, during a visit on Thursday night, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was filmed calling the activists “terrorists” as he stood in front of them.
After their arrest, the flotilla’s legal team expressed concern over the treatment the crew members might face, particularly those who had previously been abducted and detained by Israeli occupation authorities.
This marks the second time Thunberg has been arrested alongside other flotilla members, after a similar attempt earlier this year ended with the activists’ arrest and deportation.
