An email sent by Sweden’s foreign ministry to relatives of Greta Thunberg, who is being held in Israel after taking part in the Sumud flotilla to Gaza, discloses allegedly harsh conditions in which the climate activist is being kept. According to correspondence obtained by Britain’s Guardian, Thunberg told Swedish officials who visited her in detention that she has been treated harshly, and another activist said she was even forced to hold flags.
A source who visited the activist — who has now been detained by Israel for a second time after trying to “break the siege on Gaza” — said she is being held in a cell with fleas and too little food and water.
Navy forces take over the last ship in the Sumud flotilla to Gaza
“Officials at the embassy (the Swedish embassy in Israel) managed to meet with Greta, who reported dehydration after she said she had not received enough water and food. She also noted that she had developed a rash she believes was caused by flea bites,” the email said.
Another Swedish source said: “According to reports, another detainee told officials from a different embassy who saw her that she was forced to hold flags while photos were taken. She wondered whether pictures of her were circulated.”
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Greta Thunberg upon the flotilla's arrival in Israel
(Photo: Foreign Ministry spokesperson)
Turkish activist Ersin Çelik, who also took part in the flotilla and was arrested, told the Anadolu news agency that “they dragged little Greta by her hair in front of our eyes, beat her and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They made her crawl. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others, because she is a popular figure. In other words they did exactly what the Nazis did.”
Another activist who took part in the flotilla, was detained in Israel and expelled to Turkey, said “she was wrapped in an Israeli flag and displayed like a trophy.” Adalah, the legal aid organization representing some of the detainees, later said the activists were left “without food or water for hours — until late at night. This is a clear violation of their basic rights. Their rights to a fair legal process were also violated; they did not receive legal representation.” According to lawyers, Thunberg herself received “only a packet of chips that was shown to the cameras.”
On Saturday, 137 flotilla activists were deported, and Thunberg had already said she suffered dehydration and a lack of water and food and had sat “for long hours on hard surfaces.” Turkey’s foreign ministry said the 137 deportees were put on a Turkish Airlines flight from Israel that landed in Istanbul late Saturday afternoon. Nationalities among them included citizens of the United States, Italy, Britain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Malaysia, Bahrain, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia and Turkey.
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Flotilla activists arrive on their ship to Ashdod port
(Photo: Foreign MInistery spokesperson)
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Naval forces arrive at Ashdod port after seizing Sumud flotilla to Gaza
(Photo: Ammar Awad/ Reuters)
On Wednesday, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Israeli Navy moved to seize 41 boats that took part in the flotilla and were en route to Gaza. On Yom Kippur it forced the vessels to divert to Ashdod port. The foreign ministry said yesterday that Israel is seeking to speed up the deportation of all flotilla participants, but “some are deliberately blocking the legal process and prefer to remain in Israel,” and that several foreign governments have been reluctant to accept their nationals. Nonetheless, it said, “all participants in this PR stunt will be deported as quickly as possible.”
According to Reuters, some activists said they were “detained violently” and handcuffed while kneeling for hours. The foreign ministry said all detainees were “healthy and well” and that Israel is working to complete the returns as soon as possible.