Istanbul – Turkish journalist and activist Arsin Çelik, who was part of the Global Freedom Flotilla, revealed that Israeli forces brutally tortured Swedish activist Greta Thunberg in front of other participants during their detention.
Speaking to CNN Türk after he arrived at Istanbul Airport on Saturday, following his deportation from Israel’s Ramon Airport alongside 136 members of the flotilla, Çelik described scenes of severe abuse.
“The Israelis tortured Greta Thunberg mercilessly before our eyes,” he said. “They treated her unjustly — Greta is just a young girl. They forced her to crawl and to kiss the Israeli flag. It was the same cruelty the Nazis once committed.”
Earlier that day, a Turkish Airlines flight landed in Istanbul carrying 137 activists, including 36 Turks and 23 Malaysians, all of whom had been aboard the Global Freedom Flotilla. The group had been intercepted and detained by Israeli forces while sailing through international waters.
According to reports, starting Wednesday evening, Israeli authorities seized 42 vessels belonging to the flotilla as it sailed toward besieged Gaza, arresting hundreds of international activists on board.
The flotilla had issued an SOS distress call following the Israeli military attack on its ships, denouncing the assault as a war crime and a flagrant violation of international law.
This marked the first time in history that dozens of ships set sail together toward Gaza, home to more than 2.4 million Palestinians, in a collective effort to break Israel’s 18-year blockade on the coastal strip.
Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli occupation forces — with American support — have continued to wage a campaign of genocide in Gaza, resulting in 67,074 martyrs and 169,430 wounded, the majority being women and children. The ongoing siege and starvation have also claimed the lives of 459 Palestinians, including 154 children.
