Shahidul Alam, other detainees from Gaza flotilla sent to Israeli prison: Drik
The deportation process is expected to be a lengthy one and is believed to begin tomorrow, says Drik general manager
Bangladeshi photojournalist and activist Shahidul Alam, along with other participants of the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla, has been sent to Ketziyet prison in Israel, according to Drik.
"All journalists, health workers, human rights defenders, and crew members aboard the flotilla were sent to Ketziot Prison, located in the Negev desert," ASM Rezaur Rahman, general manager of Drik, told The Business Standard tonight (9 October).
According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Shahidul Alam was sent to jail around 4pm (Israel time).
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"The deportation process is expected to be a lengthy one and is believed to begin tomorrow," said the Drik official.
He also said, "We are receiving information that the detainees are being subjected to torture by the Israeli forces."
In a Facebook post, Freedom Flotilla Coalition said the detainees report beatings, humiliation, and coercion.
"Tribunal hearings are expected today, but Israeli authorities continue to block full legal access to the detainees. Several parliamentarians from France, Belgium, and Ireland have already been deported," read the post.
Shahidul Alam, the managing director of Drik, was part of the flotilla that set sail to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza to deliver vital humanitarian aid.
The flotilla included eight ships from 'Thousand Medlines to Gaza', a separate initiative calling for an end to Israeli aggression. Politicians, journalists, doctors, and human rights activists from multiple countries joined the nine-boat convoy. On Wednesday, Israeli forces attacked the flotilla and detained all activists and sailors on board.
In a statement, Drik demanded the immediate release of Shahidul Alam and other detained humanitarian workers.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition yesterday said that the Israeli military had attacked and intercepted its convoy of boats en route to Gaza, including The Conscience – a vessel carrying 93 journalists, doctors and activists, among them Bangladeshi photographer Shahidul Alam.
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted boats trying to reach Gaza, stating that those aboard would be taken to an Israeli port and deported.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international network of pro-Palestinian activist groups, organises civilian maritime missions aimed at breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza to deliver vital humanitarian aid.
The ships carried over $110,000 worth of medical supplies, respiratory equipment and nutrition intended for hospitals struggling in Gaza, the coalition said.
This incident follows a similar occurrence where Israel intercepted around 40 vessels and detained more than 450 activists from an aid convoy, the Global Sumud Flotilla, making a parallel effort to deliver essential supplies to Gaza.
