Testimonies from flotilla survivors 31st May 2010

Here are some of the survivors testimonies taken from Free Gaza Movement.

Abroad Mavi Marmara

Inge Hoeger

German Parliamentarian




"We felt like we were in a war, like we were being kidnapped." "Nobody had a weapon."

Aboard the Free Mediterranean

Michalis Grigoropoulos (Greek)

Crewman

“Commandos were already using teargas and firing live ammunition as they hit the deck.”"We did not resist at all, we couldn't even if we had wanted to.” "They then used electroshock weapons on some activists,"

While in custody in Israel, "two Greek activists were beaten up."

Aboard the Challenger I

Dr. Fintan Lane

Ireland



“When they boarded our boat, we resisted entirely peacefully. I sat on the floor and tried to reason with them, but the Israeli commandos physically attacked us. Fiachra Ó Luain (see above) was dragged around the ground and I had a gun pointed in my face by a screaming commando. His mania was so intense that I genuinely feared for my life."

On treatment during custody: “I would not cooperate with my illegal detention (by handing over my passport) so I was then physically assaulted, my arms were painfully twisted behind my back for prolonged periods. Ken O’Keefe, the Irish-American passenger, suffered a severe beating at the hands of security officials at Tel Aviv airport before boarding, and his injuries were so bad that he had to be hospitalised in Tel Aviv.”

Aboard the Sophia

Henning Mankell

Best-Selling Swedish Novelist

“We saw these black rubber boats coming with masked commando soldiers … they climbed aboard. They were very aggressive … there was an older man in the crew, he was perhaps a little slow and they shot him in the arm with an electric gun which is very, very painful … they shot another man with rubber bullets."

The soldiers checked the boat and one soon returned saying they had found weapons. "I have 24 witnesses to this, he showed me my razor, a one-time use razor, and a box cutter he'd found in the kitchen," “All my possessions were taken. They stole my camera, my telephone … even my socks."

You can read more testimonies here.