Israel accused of holding Greta Thunberg in an infested cell and making him flags | Gaza flotilla

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg told Swedish officials that she was subject to severe treatment in Israeli police custody after her detention and withdrawal from a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, according to the correspondence seen by The Guardian.

According to correspondence, Israeli forces are also reported by another detainee for taking photos where Thunberg was forced to hold flags. The identity of the flags is unknown.

In an email sent by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to people close to Thunberg, and seen by The Guardian, an official who visited the activist in prison said that she had said that she had been detained in an infested bed bugs, with too little food and water.

“The embassy was able to meet Greta,” reads the email. “She informed dehydration. It has received insufficient quantities of water and food. She also said that she had developed rastered rashes which, she said, were caused by bedbugs.

“Another detainee would have told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] Being forced to hold flags while photos were taken. She wondered if images of her had been distributed, “added the head of the Swedish ministry.

The allegation was corroborated by at least two other members of Flatilla who had been detained by Israeli forces and released on Saturday.

“They dragged Little Greta [Thunberg] By her hair before our eyes, beat her and force her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything that was imaginable, like a warning to others, “Turkish activist Ersinçelik, participant in the Sumud Flotilla, told Anadolu News Agency.

Lorenzo d’Agostino, journalist and other participant in Flatilla, said after his return to Istanbul, Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy” – a scene described with incredulity and anger by those who witnessed it.

Thunberg is one of the 437 activists, parliamentarians and lawyers who were part of the Flotilla Global Sumud, a coalition of more than 40 ships with humanitarian aid, the objective of which was to violate the Maritime Block of Gaza of 16 years of Israel.

Between Thursday and Friday, Israeli forces intercepted all the boats and arrested each crew member on board. Most of them are detained in Ketziot, also known as Ansar III, a high security prison of the Negev desert used mainly to have Palestinian security prisoners, many of which Israel accuses of participation in militant or terrorist activities.

In the past, activists held by Israel were not prosecuted criminally and their presence was rather dealt with as a question of immigration.

According to lawyers for the NGO Adalah, the rights of crew members have been “systematically violated”, activists have denied water, sanitation, medicines and immediate access to their legal representatives “in clear violation of their fundamental rights to a regular procedure, a impartial and legal representation”.

The Italian legal team representing the flotilla confirmed that the detained persons were left “for hours without food or water – until the end of last night”, with the exception of a “pack of chips handed over to Greta and shown to the cameras”. Lawyers also reported cases of verbal and physical violence.

During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday evening, the Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was filmed by calling the “terrorist” activists while he was standing in front of them.

“These are the terrorists of the flotilla,” he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed that the video had been shot at Ashdod Port on Thursday evening.

Some activists have been heard shouting: “Free Palestine”.

Ben-Gvir previously asked that activists be imprisoned rather than deported.

After their arrest, the Flotilla legal team expressed its concern concerning the treatment that crew members could be confronted, in particular those who had previously been detained by the Israeli authorities after attempts to break the naval blockage of Gaza. This marks the second time that Thunberg has been arrested alongside other members of Flatilla, after a similar attempt earlier this year with the arrest and expulsion of activists.

Baptiste André, a French doctor who was part of one of the boats in the flotilla in June, told journalists when he returned to France that he had seen Israeli border agents laughed and deliberately deprives sleep passengers, in particular Thunberg.

The Swedish official said in the email that the Israeli authorities asked Thunberg to sign a document.

“She expressed uncertainty about what the document meant and did not want to sign anything that she did not understand,” reads email. The head of the Swedish ministry wrote that Thunberg had access to a legal advisor.

Adalah declared in a previous declaration on the legal process that, although the Israeli authorities would have a file of repeated participants in Aid Flotillas, activists, such as Thunberg, were generally treated in the same way as participants for the first time, subject to short -term detention and deportation.

The Guardian contacted the Israeli penitentiary service, Israeli Defense Forces (FDI) and the Israeli Foreign Affairs, but none has yet responded to a request for comments.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that its Embassy officials had visited nine Swedes detained on Friday: “The Swedish Embassy of Tel Aviv remains in contact with the Israeli authorities to highlight the importance of rapid treatment and the possibility of returning home to Sweden. Based on discussions with detained persons, the importance of meeting individual medical needs has also been highlighted.

“In addition, the embassy stressed that food and clean water must be provided immediately and that all prisoners must have access to an Israeli legal advisor, if you wish.”

The Israeli Embassy said allegations were “complete lies”. “All prisoners of the provocation of the Hamas Sumud had access to water, food and toilet; They have not been refused access to legal advice, and all their legal rights, including access to medical care, have been fully maintained.

“Israel is and will remain a state governed by the rule of law, determined to maintain the rights and dignity of all individuals in accordance with international standards,” he said.