- ARAB NEWS
- 02 Aug 2025
Since 1975
LONDON: A pair of Australian pro-Palestine activists have complained of being “brutalized psychologically” after the boat they were on was stopped by the Israeli military trying to reach Gaza, The Guardian reported on Friday.
Tania Safi, Robert Martin and 19 others were detained aboard the boat, named Handala, as it tried to deliver aid as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Safi and Martin said they were treated “like criminals” after their arrest, including being shackled and subjected to strip-searches.
After arriving back in Australia on Friday, Safi told reporters: “It feels like a bit of a dream at the moment to be honest … It’s been a rough ride.”
She added: “We were dehydrated and exhausted. We’ve been disconnected from the world.”
Safi said the Handala was boarded by at least 30 Israeli soldiers, all heavily armed, and they tried to film the activists receiving assistance from them.
“They were playing this odd psychological game of offering water and food with the camera crew, trying to get us to accept things from them, but none of us would,” she said. “We don’t want to take anything from an entity that is starving babies to death.”
The activists were taken to the city of Ashdod, where they had their possessions confiscated and were placed in an interrogation room. One of them, US citizen Chris Smalls, was assaulted by Israeli soldiers.
“Chris, the only black man, was pinned down by seven or eight men,” Safi said. “When I asked about him, they came into the room and dragged me out by my arms. I’m still bruised from it.
“They pulled me out and threw me down on the floor, they made me take off all my clothes, they strip-searched me right there, made me squat up and down … They treated us like we were criminals.”
Safi continued: “In these prisons, we saw face-to-face the soullessness and the cruelty and brutality.”
She added: “There were moments where they’d handcuff me and grab the handcuffs and just throw me against the wall.”
Martin told reporters: “We had no rights … I have a lot of medication — they didn’t allow any medication at all.”
He added: “The Australian government demanded I be able to make phone calls to my loved ones — they didn’t allow me to do that either, (or) anybody else.”
The duo were eventually taken to Jordan where, after receiving diplomatic support and a medical evaluation, they were deemed unfit to fly due to the physical condition their ordeal had left them in.
Safi said after she was hooked up to an IV drip, “I just passed out and slept for like 16 hours.”
She added: “I couldn’t sleep (in prison) … They shine the torch in your face until you wake up, or they bang on the door every time you fall asleep.
“We didn’t commit any crimes. They tried to get us to sign documents that said we’d entered Israel illegally, which isn’t true … We were taken completely against our will and brutalized psychologically in every way.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has sent a number of vessels in a bid to deliver aid to Gaza and raise awareness of the dire situation facing Palestinian civilians trapped in the enclave.
On June 9, the last boat to make the journey, the Madleen, was stopped by Israel in international waters.
Twelve campaigners were arrested, including Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
