© Chris Meisch / RTL
Nora Rosa Fellens Huberty, an activist from Luxembourg, was detained in Israel after attempting to enter Gaza with a flotilla of boats carrying aid. Now, she has been deported back home.
On Wednesday evening, Nora Rosa Fellens Huberty arrived at the train station in Luxembourg City, where she was greeted by a group of people bearing flowers, flags and placards in order to welcome her home.
The young woman appeared exhausted but happy to be back home with her friends and family. Her gaze was focused, shocked, determined, and appeared to reflect her experiences over the past few days. The atmosphere was emotional with mixed feelings ranging from relief, pride and anger at what she was put through.
Later that evening, Huberty joined other participants from the Global Sumud Flotilla at a restaurant in Limpertsberg where they shared their experiences on the mission, as well as their thoughts on the next steps. The flotilla was an international fleet of boats attempting to deliver humanitarian aid and solidarity for Gaza. The mission aimed to highlight the miserable living conditions amid the blockade at the Gaza Strip for its inhabitants, but the flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters before it reached the coast. The activists on board were detained, or "kidnapped", as they referred to it, in Israel and subjected to interrogation.
36 hours without water
The Global Sumud Flotilla's legal team has since made serious allegations against the Israeli authorities, stating that the activists were interrogated without their lawyers present. Huberty said she had the opportunity to speak to her lawyer over the phone for two minutes, and that her lawyer was permitted to be present during questioning. However, she said she was one of the only activists who was given this treatment. The authorities denied the activists medical treatment and disposed of their medication. Some of the activists with heart problems struggled during the detention and fainted. Instead of giving them their medication, their Israeli captors laughed at them and made fun of them. Some of the detainees said they experienced physical assault and humiliation during their imprisonment. Israel has declined to comment on these statements.
Huberty told RTL that she was treated "inhumanely" from the moment she was taken captive by the Israeli authorities, and that her human rights were not respected. The army spent seven hours controlling the activists' vessel at gunpoint, separating them from the rest of the flotilla and leaving them for hours in the sun without knowing what would happen next. The activists were left without food for 48 hours and received no water for 36 hours, Huberty revealed.
Violence and humiliation in an Israeli prison
Once imprisoned, the activists were kept away from other inmates and were strictly prohibited from having contact with one another. They were woken up every few hours and moved to another cell, in order to inflict mental difficulties, Huberty explained. The Israelis filmed their treatment, laughing at them and humiliating them. However, Huberty said this was still better treatment than Palestinian prisoners received in Israel.
Huberty and the Global Sumud Flotilla believe their mission was a success, in the sense that they raised the desired awareness for the dire situation in Gaza, as well as displaying a symbolic solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people. They said the mission also served to put pressure on countries within the EU and the United Nations, as well as highlighting the actions of the Israeli authorities. According to sources within the flotilla, six of the 460 activists are still imprisoned.
Further protests to follow
Huberty said this was far from being the end. First she intends to rest and work through her experiences, as well as spend time with her loved ones, but then she will join an even larger flotilla heading towards Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla team intends to send a new aid flotilla, with around 40,000 people signing up to participate at the time of writing. As Huberty explained, "we won't stop until Gaza is free."
A number of well-known Luxembourgish organisations are supporting the protest, including Greenpeace Luxembourg, Amnesty International, Action Solidarité Tiers Monde and the Committee for Fair Peace in the Middle East(CPJPO).
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