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The environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has told Swedish officials she is being subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody after her detention and removal from a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza, according to correspondence seen by the Guardian.
According to the correspondence, Israeli forces are also reported by another detainee to have taken photographs where Thunberg was allegedly forced to hold flags. The identity of the flags are unknown.
In an email sent by the Swedish foreign ministry to people close to Thunberg, and seen by the Guardian, an official who has visited the activist in prison said she claimed she was detained in a cell infested with bedbugs, with too little food and water.
“The embassy has been able to meet with Greta,” reads the email. “She informed of dehydration. She has received insufficient amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed rashes which she suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”
“Another detainee reportedly told another embassy that they had seen her [Thunberg] being forced to hold flags while pictures were taken. She wondered whether images of her had been distributed,” the Swedish ministry’s official added.
The allegation was corroborated by at least two other members of the flotilla 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 forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.
Lorenzo D’Agostino, a journalist and another flotilla participant, said after returning to Istanbul that Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy” – a scene described with disbelief and anger by those who witnessed it.
Thunberg is among 437 activists, parliamentarians and lawyers who are part of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a coalition of more than 40 vessels carrying humanitarian aid whose goal was to breach Israel’s 16-year maritime blockade of Gaza.
Between Thursday and Friday, Israeli forces intercepted all the boats and arrested every crew member onboard. Most of them are being held at Ketziot, also known as Ansar III, a high-security prison in the Negev desert used primarily to detain Palestinian security prisoners, many of whom Israel accuses of involvement in militant or terrorist activities.
In the past, activists detained by Israel were not criminally prosecuted and instead their presence was treated as an immigration matter.
According to lawyers from the NGO Adalah, the rights of the crew members have been “systematically violated”, reporting that activists were denied water, sanitation, medication and immediate access to their legal representatives, “in clear breach of their fundamental rights to due process, impartial trial and legal representation”.
The Italian legal team representing the flotilla confirmed those detained were left “for hours without food or water – until late last night”, with the exception of “a packet of crisps handed to Greta and shown to the cameras”. Lawyers also reported instances of verbal and physical abuse.
During a visit to Ashdod on Thursday night, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was filmed calling the activists “terrorists” as he stood in front of them.
“These are the terrorists of the flotilla,” he said, speaking in Hebrew and pointing at dozens of people sitting on the ground. His spokesperson confirmed the video was filmed at Ashdod port on Thursday night.
Some activists were heard shouting: “Free Palestine.”
Ben-Gvir has previously called for the activists to be jailed rather than deported.
After their arrest, the flotilla’s legal team expressed concern over the treatment the crew members might face, particularly those who had previously been detained by Israeli authorities after attempts to break Gaza’s naval blockade. This marks the second time Thunberg has been arrested alongside other flotilla members, after a similar attempt earlier this year ended with the activists’ arrest and deportation.
Baptiste André, a French doctor who was on one of the boats of the flotilla in June, told reporters upon his return to France that he witnessed Israeli border agents mock and deliberately deprive passengers of sleep, in particular Thunberg.
The Swedish official said in the email that Thunberg was asked by Israeli authorities to sign a document.
“She expressed uncertainty about what the document meant and did not want to sign anything she did not understand,” reads the email. The Swedish ministry’s official wrote that Thunberg has had access to legal counsel.
Adalah said in an earlier statement about the legal process that although Israeli authorities would have a record of repeat participants in aid flotillas, activists, such as Thunberg, were generally treated in the same way as first-time participants, subject to short-term detention and deportation.
The Guardian contacted the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli ministry for foreign affairs but none have yet responded to a request for comment.
The Swedish foreign ministry said its embassy officials had visited nine detained Swedes on Friday: “The Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv remains in contact with Israeli authorities to stress the importance of swift processing and the possibility of returning home to Sweden. Based on discussions with detained individuals, the importance of addressing individual medical needs was also emphasised.
“Moreover, the embassy stressed that food and clean water must be provided immediately, and that all detainees must be given access to Israeli legal counsel, if desired.”
