“I was beaten by four people, repeatedly punched, kicked, spat on and accused of being a terrorist.”
British Gaza flotilla activists Alice Chapman and Zak Khan said they required hospital care after being abducted and abused by Israeli occupation forces who attacked and intercepted their aid ships in international waters near Crete.
Khan testified that he was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet, violently assaulted, and told by doctors he came close to a broken jaw. He also said he developed a chest infection due to the conditions aboard the detention vessel.
Chapman said she was punched by an Israeli soldier, while both described detainees being forced to sleep either inside shipping containers or outdoors, exposed to extreme cold at night and intense heat during the day, while being denied water and having stun grenades used to disrupt their sleep.
Khan further reported that some detainees were placed in solitary confinement, while others were taken away and beaten. He described one activist being “beaten very badly” inside a container after shouting “free Palestine,” with others only able to hear the assault.
They said dozens of detainees required medical treatment upon release, as Israeli occupation forces seized multiple vessels from the flotilla attempting to break the blockade on Gaza, with organizers condemning the attack as unlawful and an act of piracy.
