Jamie Stoddart

🟠 BREAKING: Greta Thunberg says she is being subjected to harsh treatment in Israeli custody after her detention from the Gaza aid flotilla, according to correspondence from Sweden’s foreign ministry seen by the Guardian. Thunberg told embassy staff she is held in a cell “infested with bedbugs,” with too little food and water, and has developed rashes. She reported “sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.” Another detainee said Israeli forces photographed her while “forced to hold flags.” The flotilla’s Italian legal team confirmed activists were left “for hours without food or water – until late last night,” with the exception of “a packet of crisps handed to Greta and shown to the cameras.” Lawyers also reported cases of verbal and physical abuse. Freed Turkish activists described even harsher treatment: journalist Ersin Çelik said “the Israelis tormented Greta Thunberg, dragged her on the ground, and made her kiss the Israeli flag.” Ayçin Kantoglu said women were kept in a dog shelter, denied food for three days, forced to drink toilet water, and that Greta was “beaten, an Israeli flag was tied to her back, and she was walked across the room with her hands tied behind her back.”