Eight members of the Global Sumud Flotilla were detained by Israeli naval forces in international waters and returned to Berlin Brandenburg Airport to a warm reception.
Among them was activist Kubra Cinar, who emotionally reunited with her family and described the ordeal to Anadolu Agency.
“We were not allowed to meet our lawyers. Sick people were denied their medication. We were not given food for 48 hours, and for about 36 hours, no water at all,” she said. “Various forms of violence were used against us.”
Cinar denounced Israel’s actions as “criminal” and accused the German government of moral cowardice for backing Tel Aviv despite evidence of abuse.
“Germany is the second-largest supplier of weapons to Israel. As always, it chose to ignore Israel’s lawlessness and supported Israel instead of its own citizens,” she said.
Despite the brutality, she vowed to continue her activism.
“We will not stop. We will keep going until the blockade on Gaza is lifted.”
Another activist, Yasemin Acar, recounted the same pattern of mistreatment and humiliation.
“We were locked in small spaces, kept under the sun for hours without food or water, and then beaten,” she said. “They have weapons, but what we have is love for the Palestinian people. Even while being beaten, we kept shouting ‘Free Palestine.’”
Both women condemned Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza.
“The Palestinian people are living through genocide,” Acar said. “Babies are being killed, and they call even tiny infants ‘terrorists.’”
Israeli naval units stormed and seized the Global Sumud Flotilla last Wednesday, detaining more than 470 activists from over 50 countries who were attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and break the 18-year blockade imposed by Israel.
Since October 2023, relentless Israeli bombardments have killed over 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, reducing Gaza to ruins and deepening global outrage over a campaign of extermination against the Palestinian people.