Gaza Aid Flotilla Activist Recounts Torture in Israeli Prison
Bangladeshi renowned photographer and rights activist Shahidul Alam said Saturday that Israeli forces attacked the Gaza flotilla he was on and put activists in jail, where they were tortured.
Alam was one of the hundreds of sailors who joined the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to Gaza to break a blockade of aid imposed on the enclave by Israel.
He detailed his detention ordeal during a news conference in Dhaka after he and dozens of other activists returned to their homes with the help of the Turkish government. Many of the detainees are, however, still in Israeli jails, he said.
Alam, who is also the managing director of the Dhaka-based independent media organization, Drik, said mental torture was the most common form of punishment imposed by Israel.
Late at night, Israeli soldiers entered the prison cells with machine guns and caused panic.
“They made loud noises, shouted to stand up or give other orders and tried to create panic. One of our fellow humanitarians was also threatened with being shot, claiming to be a Hamas supporter,” he said.
“When we got off the ship, we were taken with our hands tied behind our backs and we were made to kneel down in a cell where the Israeli force members just urinated,” on the floor, said Alam. “The worst thing for me was that they took my passport and threw it on the ground repeatedly. It was a big blow for me.”
Bangladesh does not recognize Israel.
We have made a “blueprint” before we return, and we have decided that we will go again and a thousand ships will go, added Alam, who was detained Wednesday with 150 other humanitarians.
‘Shame on you because you (Western media) are involved in genocide’
Addressing the international media, Alam said: “I should say, ‘Shame on you.’ Shame on you because you (Western media) are involved in genocide. Shame on you because you are aiding and abetting genocide. And shame on you for not joining this flotilla to Gaza, when this was an opportunity to prove that you are different.
“But there is still a chance to join future flotillas, to change your behavior, to rebuild your position and to be on the right side of history,” he said.
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The release of the pro-Palestine activists comes as Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal proposed by US President Donald Trump on ending the two-year Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.
Since October 2023, the Israeli regime's attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and rendered the enclave largely uninhabitable.
Source: Anadolu Agency
