Irish citizens from the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Dr Margaret Connolly, were deported from Israel and traveled toward Ireland. Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee confirmed the group is safe in Istanbul and recovering. Embassy officials in Turkey will provide consular assistance and support. Dr Suhad Bishara, a senior attorney supporting the flotilla, said members were en route to the airport after hearings at Ashdod Port. She said detainees were moved to a prison in the Naqab desert. She described violence against participants, including severe pain, hospitalizations, humiliation, and sexual harassment complaints.
"Pleased to report that our Flotilla citizens are safe in Istanbul and are recovering, said Minister McEntee. I assure their loved ones that officials from our embassy in [Turkey] will continue to provide appropriate consular assistance and support, she added."
"This was after a long night that they had at Ashdod Port [in Israel], where they had to go through hearings before immigration officers, Dr Bishara told RTÉ Radio 1's Today with David McCullagh. From there, they moved to a prison in the south, in the Naqab desert, she added."
"Dr Bishara, who was speaking from the detention centre in Ashdod, described the level of violence against the detainees. She said many of them were in severe pain, with at least three people hospitalised yesterday. We've met hundreds of participants yesterday, and the pictures that we have is that there was a very systematic and patterned way of violence against participants, he said."
"Many complained of humiliation, some complained of sexual harassment, and we can say for sure from "
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