Khaberni - Lawyer Lobna Toma, from the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah), disclosed the details and circumstances surrounding the Israeli military's interception of the Steadfastness Fleet, which was en route to breaking the siege on Gaza, and the practices that ensued, stating that Brazilian activist Thiago Avila and Spanish activist Saif Abu Kishk were subjected to grave physical and psychological violations after being transferred to Israel.
Toma, a member of the defense team for the activists, explained that the Israeli military separated Avila and Abu Kishk from 170 activists onboard the intercepted fleet and transported them to Israeli territory by sea.
She added that the activists were subjected to severe violations including torture, violence, verbal insults, and spitting, and they were forced to lie on their stomachs with their heads on the ground, and remained blindfolded throughout this period, noting that Avila fainted twice due to the violence.
According to Toma, upon the activists' arrival in Israel, they were transferred to the Prison Authority at "Shikma" Prison in Ashkelon, before being subjected to interrogation.
She clarified that the defense team visited the prison last Saturday to provide legal advice to the activists and requested to review the suspicions leveled against them before offering counsel, but the request was refused, according to the lawyer who said that the suspicions were formally revealed during a detention extension request in court.
Toma stated that the suspicions included 5 charges related to security, among them "affiliation with a terrorist organization, assisting an enemy during wartime, and communicating with a foreign agent", highlighting that the purpose of these charges was to amplify the security file in their case and demonstrate its severity.
She mentioned that the activists told the defense team during their visit today, Monday, that they are no longer subjected to physical violence, but they are undergoing blatant psychological torture, as they face threats of prison sentences up to 100 years, in addition to threats of death.
Toma pointed out that each activist is held in a severely cold isolated room, with a strong light shone on them for 24 hours to prevent them from sleeping, indicating that these methods are typically used by intelligence to exert pressure and psychological torture.
"Violation of Ethical Standards"
In this context, Adalah Center condemned on Monday the "psychological harm and mistreatment" that detained activists Abu Kishk and Avila are enduring, revealing that among the violations, they were "blindfolded continuously outside the cell even during medical visits".
The center - a non-governmental organization - considered that "blindfolding the patient during the medical visit is a blatant violation of medical ethical standards".
It criticized the focus of the majority of the interrogations of the activists on the fleet, noting that it represents "a peaceful humanitarian mission, which confirms that the detention is an attempt to criminalize humanitarian aid and solidarity".
This comes after an Israeli court extended, yesterday Sunday, the detention of Abu Kishk and Avila for two more days as they continue a hunger strike, now on its sixth day, surviving only on water, according to the "Adalah" center, which said it is waiting to find out if Israel will request extending this detention tomorrow, Tuesday.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied any mistreatment in detention centers on Sunday.
The Steadfastness Fleet consisted of more than 50 ships that set sail from ports in France, Spain, and Italy aiming to break the Israeli blockade imposed on the war-torn Gaza Strip, then intercepted by Israeli forces - last Thursday night and dawn - while still in international waters.
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