‘They behaved like a terrorist group’: Italian journalist on being detained by Israel
Italian journalist Lorenzo Agostino has said he felt he was “in a really barbaric place” while being illegally detained by Israel in international waters after this week’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels bound for Gaza.
Agostino said he and fellow passengers were kidnapped and subjected to “humiliating” conditions.
“They behaved like a terrorist group … We were left without fresh water for over two days. Overall, they took every opportunity to humiliate any of us,” Agostino told the Anadolu news agency.
He said they were subjected to blindfolding, tight handcuffs, inadequate clothing, and freezing temperatures in a highly air-conditioned van for hours.
“I had the feeling of being in a really barbaric place and I really hoped that this barbarism might be over soon,” he added.
Agostino described the arrival at Ashdod port as hostile, noting the presence of far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“Ben-Gvir was outside the arrival place at Ashdod port when we arrived. And he was sort of like making sure that we were treated like terrorists because he thought we were terrorists,” he said.
The Global Sumud Flotilla had set out to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the enclave. The Israeli army attacked the flotilla, seizing dozens of boats and arresting hundreds of activists.
Gaza flotilla members say medications withheld in Israeli detention: Lawyers
Adalah, a legal centre for Palestinians in Israel, says detained Global Sumud Flotilla participants have complained of mistreatment at Ktzi’ot Prison, where they are being held in Israel’s southern Negev desert region.
“Participants reported various forms of mistreatment and aggression from the prison guards,” Adalah said in its latest update on the activists.
“Some stated they had not received any food since their unlawful interception, that their medications are being withheld, and that no alternative medications have been provided. Others reported a lack of access to clean drinking water and described the available water as unsafe or of poor quality.”
As we reported earlier, Israel said 137 activists have been deported to Turkiye after their vessels were forcibly intercepted in international waters earlier this week while trying to bring much-needed aid to the Gaza Strip.
Greta Thunberg mistreated by Israeli forces in detention, activists say
Several international activists deported from Israel after joining a Gaza aid flotilla have accused Israeli forces of mistreating climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Turkish journalist and Gaza Sumud Flotilla participant Ersin Celik told local media outlets he witnessed Israeli forces “torture Greta Thunberg”, describing how she was “dragged on the ground” and “forced to kiss the Israeli flag.”
Malaysian activist Hazwani Helmi and American participant Windfield Beaver gave similar accounts at Istanbul airport, alleging Thunberg was shoved and paraded with an Israeli flag.
“It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,” Helmi said, adding that detainees were denied food, clean water and medication.
Beaver said Thunberg was “treated terribly” and “used as propaganda”, recalling how she was shoved into a room as far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered.
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