By Betul Yilmaz
ISTANBUL (AA) – An Israeli legal center confirmed on Monday that international activists detained from a Gaza aid flotilla were mistreated in detention.
“Many activists testified that from the beginning of the kidnapping from international waters, a series of violations and ill treatment started,” Lubna Tuma, a legal counsel for the Adalah Legal Centre, said in a video statement.
“They were forced to sit on knees and elbows. Their foreheads were on the floor, and they kept that for more than one hour. They were not allowed to move or talk to each other.”
Tuma said Israeli authorities held hearings for the detained activists at Ashdod Port in southern Israel in the absence of lawyers.
“That means that numerous activists started the administrative procedure without having a legal counsel,” she said.
“Many activists, as well, testified that they were kept in small rooms. We are speaking about three-meter rooms. Fifteen activists stay there together. They were handcuffed from behind for more than five hours. They didn't get any food or any water for many, many, many hours. All the activists, when we asked them if they saw a doctor, any medical treatment, they said no one saw them.”
Many activists also reported abuses by Israeli soldiers while in custody.
“Many activists also testified that there were insults like laughing in front of their faces, and they felt physical torture. The behavior towards women was much harder and much more severe than men,” Tuma said.
“We also noticed that there is different treatment towards Arab citizens, we heard testimonies from other people…that the women with hijab were prohibited from wearing the hijab in prison and prohibited from praying."
“There is an escalation of ill treatment this time due to the huge number. The objective of the Israeli authorities is to prevent anyone from thinking even about coming back on another flotilla, or dare even to think about entering humanitarian aid.”
Israeli naval forces attacked and seized vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla beginning on Wednesday and detained more than 470 activists from over 50 countries. The flotilla had been attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the enclave.
Around 170 participants were deported over the past few days, according to an earlier statement from Adalah, and nearly 170 others are expected to be deported on Monday.
Israel has maintained the blockade on Gaza, home to nearly 2.4 million people, for almost 18 years.
The Israeli army has killed over 67,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.