Canadian 'beaten' as Gaza-bound ships boarded: supporter
By Amy Chung, Postmedia News November 5, 2011
Canadian 'beaten' as Gaza-bound ships boarded: supporter
OTTAWA — Organizers say several activists, including a Canadian, were beaten when Israeli authorities boarded a Canadian vessel trying to bring supplies to Gaza.
“There is one Canadian, from London, Ont., who was harshly beaten,” said Dylan Penner, an Ottawa-based spokesman for the group Canadian Boat to Gaza.
The Canadian vessel Tahrir and Ireland’s Saorise had departed Turkey on Wednesday. On Friday, the Israeli navy boarded the two ships because it broke the “maritime security blockade that is in place in accordance with international law,” read a statement from the Israeli Defense Forces.
“Water cannons were being fired at the Tahrir, which is dangerous because of the rough seas and can knock people over board,” said Penner, who is unsure what kind of medical treatment the activists have access to.
Meanwhile, activist group Freedom Waves to Gaza said Saturday that family members are being prevented from having telephone contact with detained relatives.
Lawyers were able to visit briefly with some of the delegates being held at Givon Prison in Israel, the group said, but for family members, the not knowing is the hardest.
“We just don’t understand why Israeli officials are acting as they are,” said the wife of one of the detainees. “My husband’s youngest is putting a brave face on it, but I know that he is very upset and worried about how his father is doing.”
Family members who have been able to speak with Canadian consular staff have been told that several delegates showed varying degrees of bruising when Canadian officials visited them, the group said. Nevertheless, the organization added, consular staff said they felt that everyone was “OK.”
Israel has freed six of the 27 passengers and crew who were aboard the two ships. No Canadians have been released.
Members on board include a journalist and a cameraman, according to the Freedom Waves activist group. Ehab Lotayef, of Montreal, and Ontario linguistics and French professor David Heap are among those on the vessels along the American, Australian and Irish citizens.
Interior ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad told Agence France-Presse the six released included an Israeli Arab, two Greek crewmen and three journalists — from Egypt, Spain and the United States.
She said the remaining 21 people were still being held at a detention facility near Tel Aviv, after questioning by immigration authorities.
Asked when the 21 activists were expected to be freed, Hadad explained the deportation process requires them to see a judge, a process that would take at least 72 hours.
At the end of the process, Israel would fly the activists back to their homelands, she said. Fourteen of the activists held by Israel were Irish, the rest are from Canada, Scotland, Australia and the U.S.
The Canadian government has been vocal about its opposition to the activists’ plan, calling the move “provocative” and “ultimately unhelpful to the people of Gaza.”
Officials have said participants in this expedition are breaking the laws of Israel and Egypt, and Canada cannot intervene if citizens are prosecuted for their actions.
On Friday, Penner said the boats are carrying medical supplies for Palestinians, but “it was primarily a mission to demand more freedom for the people of Gaza.”
With files from Derek Abma, Postmedia News and Agence France-Presse
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Canadian 'beaten' as Gaza-bound ships boarded: supporter
Linear Mode
