Australian activists have begun arriving home after being detained by Israeli forces during a recent mission to deliver aid to Gaza.
Eleven Australians were among the 430 volunteers from 40 countries on the “Global Sumud Flotilla” intercepted in international waters last week.
Upon their return, many shared harrowing accounts of their time in custody alleging that they were subjected to beatings, torture and sexual assault.
One participant, filmmaker Juliet Lamont, described her experience by stating:
“I was dragged in to a darkened container ship on a prison boat, I was sexually assaulted, I was beaten and that was just the beginning of 4 days of absolute hell.”
Other reported broken bones being tasered in the face and being denied basic medication.
The situation has caused international backlash intensified by a video from Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, showing him taunting restrained activists.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong labeled the footage as “shocking and unacceptable.”
While organizers claim to have documented at least 15 cases of sexual assault, the Israeli prison service has denied all allegations of mistreatment maintaining that the detainees were held in accordance with the law.
