Swedish Ship to Gaza
Activists in Israel Â
Press
Release Oct. 22, 2012
The Israeli activists detained on board the "Estelle" were
released
Elik Elhanan: excessive force was used against us, without
any reason
Electric
shocks by taser out
of vengeful hatred
A Greek MP was beaten by Shabak Security Service
interrogators
"I am now on my way home, but I keep thinking of my
shipmates, my fellow
activists from abroad who are still imprisoned under harsh
conditions and undergo
 interrogation by the Shabak
Security
Service, among them Parliament Members from several
countries," said Elik
Elhanan, one of the Israeli activists who had sailed
aboard the Gaza-bound Swedish
ship "Estelle". Today, the court ordered his release and
that of two
other detained Israelis, Yonatan Shapira and Reut Mor. "At
first they tried to charge
us with all kinds of very serious felonies, such as
'aiding the enemy'. The
court rejected this out of hand. Today they tried a
article on the law books called
"Attempted infiltration into a part of the Land
of Israel which is not part of the
State of Israel"
(sic). But the court threw out this charge, too". The
detained activists
were represented by Attorney Gaby Lasky and her team, who
have considerable
experience with Human Rights cases.
The released detainees were cheerfully greeted by peace
activists who arrived at
the courtroom, among them Elik Elhanan's  parents
- Rami Elhanan and Nurit Peled-Elhanan,
who is the daughter of the late Major General Matti Peled.
Smadar Elhanan,
Elik's sister, was killed in a suicide bombing at the
center of Jerusalem – a
harsh experience which made surviving family members all
the more determined to
strive for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, so
as to prevent further
casualties on either side.
"I have gone though difficult days, but I certainly do not
regret sailing on
that boat. I knew what I was getting into" said Elik
Elhanan. "During
the voyage I made a special contact with Evangelis, a
Member of the Greek
Parliament who sailed with us. When the Naval Commandos
came aboard and while we
were blocking their way to the bridge, Evangelis told me
we have generated in
him a love for the people of Israel and a hope for a
better future in the
Middle East. Shortly afterwards they separated us.
Yesterday evening, when they
put Dror Feiler in our cell, he told us that Evangelis had
been beaten by the Shabak
interrogators. The Shabak lied shamelessly to the Consuls
and representatives
of foreign countries, telling them that their citizens and
MPs were being treated
well." Dror Feiler, who was born in Israel and whose  mother Pnina lives in Kibbutz Yad
Hana, gave
up his Israeli citizenship after moving to Stockholm, and
was therefore
separated most of the time from the Israeli detainees.
"They used a completely disproportional amount of force
against us"
continues Elhanan. "When the Navy arrived to take us over,
Yonatan Shapira
counted no less than fifteen vessels surrounding us on all
sides. Large and
small ships and boats, a ship carrying a helicopter, as
well as the Zodiacs of
the Naval Commandos. Fifteen armed naval vessels against
one small civilian
boat carrying games for the children of Gaza.
We must have disturbed very much the Navy and those who
give orders to the
Navy.
Â
When
they came aboard and we
blocked their way, the soldiers knew exactly who I was.
They shouted in Hebrew:
'Elhanan, you will pay for your Leftism!' and used the
taser to give me electric
shocks. Even after they completed their takeover of the
boat, they continued to
use the taser and administer more shocks. But if they
think they could deter me
and those who sailed with me, they are mistaken. The siege
of Gaza is an ongoing crime and it must be
ended. We will continue the struggle". Â
Contact:
Elik Elhanan +972-2-5700112 or via Nurit Peled-Elhanan
+972-547-578703
Adv. Gaby Lasky +972-54-4418988
Â