UN Calls for Humane Treatment of Detained Gaza Flotilla Activists

(MENAFN) The United Nations has urged Israel to ensure that activists detained from a Gaza-bound flotilla are treated with dignity and respect following their interception at sea.

A UN spokesperson said that all individuals taken into custody by Israeli authorities in connection with the flotilla should be handled in line with basic standards of humane treatment. He emphasized that detainees must be treated “with respect and dignity, like anyone who is detained,” and added that they should be returned to their home countries without delay.

The appeal came after the circulation of footage showing detained activists at a port facility following their arrival in Israel after being intercepted during their maritime journey. The videos, shared through various public channels, appeared to show restrained individuals and included statements from Israeli officials characterizing the activists in hostile terms.

Additional footage broadcast by media outlets reportedly showed detainees bound and positioned on the ground during their detention, with national symbols played in the background. Other statements attributed to Israeli officials included accusations directed at participants of the flotilla.

According to organizers of the humanitarian mission, dozens of vessels carrying hundreds of participants from multiple countries were intercepted by Israeli forces while traveling in international waters. The convoy had departed from a Turkish port earlier in the week in an attempt to challenge the longstanding blockade on Gaza, in place since 2007.

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