A Spanish activist who bit a medical staff member from the Israel Prison Service during a confrontation at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel has been remanded in custody until Wednesday, following a ruling by the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court. A few hours later, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and dozens of other activists were deported to Greece and Slovenia.
The activist, Reyes Rigo Serviá, an acupuncture therapist from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was transferred Sunday from Ketziot Prison to the Segev Shalom police station for questioning after the incident. Police initially considered deporting her but instead sought to extend her detention. Judge Shosh Shitrit ruled that there was “reasonable suspicion” that Serviá committed the alleged offenses.
According to police and the Israel Prison Service, Serviá and another flotilla activist allegedly refused to leave their cell for mandatory medical examinations required before deportation. The two reportedly lay on the floor, held onto each other with one arm, and grabbed metal bars with the other while kicking at prison staff. A dental assistant employed by the Prison Service who was called to help said Serviá bit her left hand during the struggle. The staff member received medical treatment and a tetanus shot.
Serviá, 56, participated in the “Global Flotilla for Gaza,” an international protest effort intercepted by the Israeli navy on Yom Kippur as it attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. She had also joined the “Global March to Gaza” in June, which was stopped by Egyptian authorities before reaching its destination.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, Serviá is connected to several international human rights organizations and has lived in various countries across Europe and Asia. In recent years she has resided in Mallorca.
Serviá has said she is not affiliated with any political movement. “I joined the flotilla out of humanity and solidarity,” she said earlier this week. “Silence is complicity, and given institutional inaction, civil society unfortunately must act. Just as the International Brigades came to defend freedom during Spain’s civil war between 1936 and 1939, now it’s our turn to do the same for Palestine.”
She added that the flotilla’s actions were “not enough, but necessary,” and criticized her own government. “I want to denounce the failure of the Spanish government to support this civilian flotilla, in which 40 of the participants are Spanish,” she said.
Deportations continue for flotilla participants
Earlier Monday, officers from the Ketziot Prison and the Israel Prison Service’s Nachshon Unit transferred 171 activists to Ramon Airport ahead of deportation flights. Of the 479 activists detained in Israel, 309 remain in custody, though more than 200 are expected to be deported within 24 hours.
A plane from Greece landed at Ramon Airport to fly out 161 activists and Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, one of the most prominent participants in the “Global Flotilla for Gaza.” A Slovak aircraft also arrived to collect 10 other activists. Israeli authorities said the deportation flights were funded by the respective foreign governments, not by Israel.
Thunberg’s detention has drawn international scrutiny amid reports that she was held under harsh conditions at Ketziot Prison — claims Israeli officials have denied.
According to Britain’s Guardian, a Swedish source who visited Thunberg said she was kept in a cell with bedbugs and given too little food and water. Another source claimed a detainee reported seeing Thunberg forced to hold flags while photos were taken.
Turkish activist Ersin Çelik, who also participated in the flotilla and was detained, told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency: “They dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did exactly what the Nazis did.”
Israeli officials dismissed the allegations as “false and defamatory,” saying all detainees were treated according to international standards and that no mistreatment occurred.