Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who was detained by Israeli officials after she set out to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid as part of the Sumud flotilla, said she was being mistreated, as other activists have testified.
This is reported by the Guardian, which obtained access to correspondence between other people detained with Thunberg and Swedish officials.
A letter from the Swedish Foreign Ministry to people close to Thunberg, who was also detained by Israel, said a Swedish official had visited the activist in prison. She complained about bedbugs in her cell and a lack of food and water.
“She reported dehydration. She is not getting enough water and food. She also stated that she has developed rashes that she believes are caused by bed bugs. She reported being roughed up and said she sat on hard surfaces for long periods of time,” the letter said.
The Swedish ministry also reported, citing another detainee, that Thunberg was forced to hold flags and had photos taken while doing so.
“They pulled little Greta [Thunberg] by the hair in front of us, beat her and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything they could to her so that others would be afraid,” Turkish activist Ersin Celik, who was also a member of the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu Agency.
Another member of the mission, journalist Lorenzo D'Agostino, said that Thunberg was “wrapped in an Israeli flag and displayed like a trophy.”
According to lawyers from Adalah, a non-governmental organization for the protection of the rights of the Arab minority in Israel, the rights of the crew members were “systematically violated” — the activists were denied water, sanitation, medicine, and immediate access to lawyers, “which is a clear violation of their fundamental rights to due process, a fair trial, and legal protection.”
An Italian legal group representing the flotilla confirmed that the detainees were “left without food or water for several hours, until late in the evening,” with the exception of “a bag of crisps that was given to Greta and shown on camera.” The lawyers also reported instances of verbal and physical abuse.
The Israeli embassy called these allegations “complete lies”: “All detained participants in the Hamas-Sumud provocation were provided with access to water, food and a toilet; they were not denied the right to a lawyer, and all their legal rights, including access to medical care, were fully respected.”
As a reminder, on October 2, the Israeli military intercepted several boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla that were trying to break through Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Greta Thunberg was among those detained.
The flotilla also previously reported a drone attack on one of its main boats while it was anchored in Tunisian waters. There were no casualties.
The Global Sumud Flotilla consisted of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 activists, lawyers and politicians. In June and July, Israel had already blocked similar attempts by the flotilla's members to break through to the Gaza Strip. This time, the boats were intercepted 90 nautical miles off the coast of the Palestinian enclave.
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