WEB DESK: Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has alleged mistreatment by Israeli authorities following her arrest aboard an aid flotilla attempting to deliver supplies to Gaza.
Thunberg claims she endured physical abuse, starvation, and psychological mistreatment while in custody. She also reported that guards defaced her belongings with inappropriate graffiti and took selfies with her.
The 22-year-old was detained earlier this month in international waters, part of the Global Sumud Flotilla aiming to bring aid into Gaza. Speaking to Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper, Thunberg described the detention center as “dystopian,” recounting scenes of detainees forced to kneel in rows with their foreheads pressed to the ground and their hands bound.
She detailed her personal experience, stating she was isolated from others, draped in an Israeli flag, and subjected to physical abuse. “They hit and kicked me,” she recalled.
Thunberg criticized the guards for their lack of “empathy or humanity,” stating that she had to plead for water in sweltering 40-degree Celsius conditions.
“The whole experience is blurry. There’s so much happening simultaneously you’re in shock, you’re in pain and you just focus on trying to remain calm,” she explained.
She also recounted distressing incidents of threats and intimidation, stating that guards threatened to use gas and repeatedly disrupted detainees’ sleep by shaking cages, flashing lights, and enforcing standing during the night.
Thunberg was taken into custody on October 2 after the flotilla was intercepted following a refusal to alter its course when instructed by Israeli forces. Organizers accused Israel of launching an “illegal attack on unarmed humanitarians in international waters.” She was deported four days later, on October 6.
