STOCKHOLM — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has accused Israeli authorities of subjecting her and other detainees to torture following their arrest during a Gaza flotilla mission aimed at delivering aid to the blockaded enclave.
Speaking at a press conference in Stockholm on Tuesday, Thunberg claimed she and other activists were “kidnapped and tortured” by the Israeli military after being intercepted at sea.
“Personally, I don’t want to share what I was subjected to because I don’t want it to make headlines and ‘Greta has been tortured’, because that’s not the story here,” she said. “What we went through is nothing compared to what people in Gaza experience every day.”
The Israeli foreign ministry has repeatedly denied accusations of mistreatment. “All detainees … were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a spokesperson told Reuters last week. The ministry did not immediately respond to new requests for comment on Tuesday.
Thunberg was part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a convoy of vessels carrying aid supplies and calling attention to Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis, where the United Nations reports that hunger and displacement remain widespread among the 2.2 million residents.
According to Israeli officials, Thunberg was among 478 people detained during the flotilla operation and was expelled from Israel on Monday. The Israeli government has dismissed the mission as a “publicity stunt” that benefits Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization.
Swedish activists who took part in the flotilla claimed that Thunberg had been shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag during her detention, though she did not mention this incident during her press conference.
Thunberg and other participants also criticized the Swedish government for what they described as insufficient support during their detention. In response, Sweden’s foreign ministry said it had “repeatedly advised against all travel to Gaza” but confirmed that consular assistance had been provided. The ministry added that it had “stressed to Israeli authorities the importance of treating Swedish citizens in accordance with international law.”
The 21-year-old activist, known globally for her environmental campaigns, has increasingly spoken out on the Gaza conflict in recent months, calling for an immediate ceasefire and international accountability for human rights abuses.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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