https://arab.news/8t9pk
- Alessandro Mantovani says he still has pain in his jaw from blows he received, suspects it may have been dislocated
- GSF activists detained by Israel tell International Criminal Court that military commanders, top politicians guilty of war crimes and torture
LONDON: An Italian journalist who took part in a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla has accused the Israeli military of subjecting detainees to treatment that amounted to torture.
Speaking at a press conference in Rome on Wednesday, Alessandro Mantovani said: “From the very beginning, we were beaten and forced into humiliating positions. When we were taken to their military ships, we were pushed down face-first onto the deck, tied up, then forced to kneel and kept in the same extremely uncomfortable position for hours.”
He added that once aboard, detainees “were systematically beaten.”
Mantovani was among more than 400 participants abroad the Global Sumud Flotilla from over 40 countries intercepted by Israel in May, in what the solidarity group and legal experts described as “illegal, high-seas aggression” roughly 250 nautical miles (460 km) from Gaza.
Media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists identified at least seven journalists and media workers aboard the flotilla, including Mantovani, who said he was not even permitted to identify himself as a journalist after being detained.
His account is consistent with video footage posted online by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which showed activists forced to kneel and subjected to abusive language — scenes that drew fierce diplomatic condemnation from numerous countries.
The Italian government accused Ben-Gvir of responsibility for “unacceptable acts committed against the flotilla” and formally called on the EU to consider sanctions against him.
Mantovani said he still has pain in his jaw from the blows he received and suspects it may have been dislocated.
He also said Turkish activists appeared to have been treated with particular severity.
“I think I can say that the Turks were treated even worse than the others; torture also has a geopolitical dimension,” he said.
The diplomatic fallout continued on Thursday, as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a Senate committee that the treatment of Australian women aboard the flotilla was “unacceptable” and that the allegations they had subsequently made were “distressing.”
On Tuesday, GSF activists who were detained, tortured and deported by Israel submitted an official communication to the International Criminal Court.
Organizers accused Israeli military commanders and top politicians of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and conduct relevant to genocide.
