Flotilla raid passengers tell of violent attacks

Activists caught in the aid flotilla raid by Israeli forces claimed today that the commandos had beaten passengers and used electric shocks.

Six Greeks and several others, including a Turkish woman and her year-old baby, were released today, but Israel has barred access to hundreds of others seized.

Most of those killed were aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, and there have been conflicting accounts of what happened during the assault.

Turkish activist Nilufer Cetin, who had hidden with her baby in her cabin’s bathroom aboard the Mavi Marmara, said she believed there were 11 dead.

“The ship turned into a lake of blood,” Cetin told reporters in Istanbul, having returned after Israeli officials warned that jail would be too harsh for her child.

“We were aware of the possible danger” in joining the trip, she said. “But there are thousands of babies in Gaza. If we had reached Gaza we would have played with them and taken them food.”

She said Israeli vessels “harassed” the flotilla for two hours starting around 10 pm Sunday, and returned at around 4 am yesterday, fired warning shots and told the ships to turn back.

“When the Mavi Marmara continued on its course the harassment turned into an attack. They used smoke bombs followed by gas canisters. They started to descend onto the ship with helicopters,” she said, calling the clashes that then erupted “extremely bad and brutal.”

“I was one of the first victims to be released because I had a child,” she said, but “they confiscated everything, our telephones, laptops are all gone.” Her husband – the ship’s engineer – was still being held by Israel.

Six Greeks who returned home said those still in custody were refusing to sign papers.

“During their interrogation, many of them were badly beaten in front of us,” said Aris Papadokostopoulos, who was on the Free Mediterranean travelling behind the Turkish ship.

The six ships had been trying to break the three-year blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, the activists said.

“Suddenly from everywhere we saw inflatables coming at us, and within seconds fully equipped commandos came up on the boat,” said Greek activist Dimitris Gielalis, who was on the Sfendoni.

“They came up and used plastic bullets, we had beatings, we had electric shocks, any method we can think of, they used,” he said.

He said the boat’s captain was beaten for refusing to leave the wheel, and had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a cameraman filming the raid was hit with a rifle butt in the eye,“ he said. ”Of course we weren’t prepared for a situation of war.“

Mr Papadokostopoulos said the Free Mediterranean, which was carrying mainly Greek and Swedish activists, was about 80 miles off Gaza when the raid was launched.

“The Turkish ship was in front of us ... on which there was a terrible raid from the air and from the sea and from everywhere, with shooting,” he said.

Aboard the other boats, he said, commandos beat activists, but nobody was gravely injured. He said no one put up resistance on the Free Mediterranean, which was carrying a cargo of wheelchairs, building material and medical and pharmaceutical aid.

“Some people were hit by clubs and electric shocks,” he said.

Crew member Mihalis Grigoropoulos said he was on the bridge of the Free Mediterranean and heard shooting coming from the Turkish ship.

Several people who tried to stop the Israeli forces from getting to the bridge were hit by electric shocks and plastic bullets, he said. “We didn’t resist at all. Even if we had wanted to, what could we do?”

Civil engineer Thanassis Petrogiannis said he had joined the flotilla to provide help in rebuilding destroyed Palestinian homes.

He said that, while in Israeli custody, authorities had demanded he sign a paper written in Hebrew. He refused, and was eventually given another document that he signed.

“Everyone who didn’t accept to sign is in jail,” he said.