Terror of "Samoud" activists in Israeli detention; torture and inhumane conditions

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: According to information obtained by the British newspaper "The Guardian", political activist "Greta Thunberg" has told Swedish authorities that she faced harsh treatment and harsh conditions in the Israeli detention center after being arrested and transferred from a humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza.

 

According to the Swedish government correspondence obtained by the Guardian, another prisoner reported that Israeli forces took photos of Thunberg while she was forced to hold flags. The identities of these flags are unknown.

 

In an email sent by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to Thunberg’s relatives and seen by the Guardian, an official who met Thunberg in prison said she had claimed to be kept in a bedbug-infested cell with very little food and water.

 

“The embassy was able to meet Greta,” the email said. “She reported dehydration. She said she had not received enough food and water. She also said she had rashes and skin allergies, which were probably caused by bedbugs. She described being treated roughly and having to sit on hard surfaces for long periods of time.”

 

“One of the detainees had told another embassy that she had been forced to hold flags and have her photos taken. She was concerned that the images might have been leaked,” a Swedish official added.

 

The comments were confirmed by at least two other members of the same caravan who were released on Saturday.

 

“They pulled little Greta by the hair in front of us, beat her, forced her to kiss the Israeli flag,” Turkish activist and member of the “Sustainability” flotilla, Ersen Celik, told Anadolu Agency. “They did everything you can imagine to her, to scare the rest.”

 

Journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino, another flotilla member, said after returning to Istanbul that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and displayed like a trophy” – a scene that witnesses described with disbelief and anger.

 

Thunberg was one of 437 activists, parliamentarians and lawyers on board the “Sustainability” Global Caravan, a coalition of more than 40 humanitarian aid ships aimed at breaking the 16-year Israeli blockade of Gaza. Between Thursday and Friday, Israeli forces stopped all the ships and arrested all those on board. Most are being held in the high-security Kitziot prison, known as Israel’s torture center in the Negev Desert.

 

According to lawyers for the NGO Justice, the detainees’ rights have been “systematically violated”; activists have been denied access to water, healthcare, medicine and legal representation, which is “a clear violation of the right to a fair trial and access to a lawyer.”

 

The ship’s Italian legal team confirmed that the detainees were “left without water or food for hours until midnight last night” except for “a packet of crisps that were given to Greta and shown to the cameras.”

 

There have also been reports of verbal and physical abuse, according to the Guardian.

 

Israel’s Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben-Giver called the detainees “terrorists” while standing in front of them during a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night.

 

His spokesman confirmed that the video was recorded at the port of Ashdod. Some activists shouted in response: “Free Palestine.”

 

Ben-Gweir had previously called for the activists to be imprisoned rather than deported.

 

This is the second time Thunberg has been detained while trying to break the naval blockade of Gaza; the first time was earlier this year, when she was deported after being detained.

 

A French doctor on one of the ships in the convoy said Israeli officers had deliberately prevented the detainees from sleeping and had mocked Thunberg in particular.

 

A Swedish official wrote in an email that Thunberg had been forced to sign a document, but she refused because she did not know what it contained.

 

The Guardian contacted the Israel Prison Service, the Israeli army and the foreign ministry for comment, but none responded.

 

The Swedish foreign ministry said its embassy officials had met with nine detained Swedes on Friday.

 

The Swedish Foreign Ministry statement said, “The Swedish Embassy in Tel Aviv continues to be in contact with the Israeli authorities to emphasize the importance of the swift processing and return of the detainees to Sweden. It also emphasized, based on discussions with them, that their medical needs be addressed. In addition, the embassy stressed the need to immediately provide safe water and food and that all detainees have access to Israeli lawyers if they wish.”

 

However, the Israeli embassy called the allegations “completely false,” claiming that “all detainees in the Hamas-Samoud provocative convoy had access to water, food and toilets; they were not denied access to a lawyer and all legal rights, including medical care, were respected. Israel is a law-abiding state and will remain committed to respecting the rights and dignity of all individuals, in accordance with international standards.”