Twenty-nine activists arrived in the Spanish capital on Sunday, with some reporting that they had been subjected to “physical and psychological abuse” in Israel.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska hinted on Monday that legal action could be taken at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after Spanish citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla reported abusive treatment in Israeli custody, the Anadolu news agency reported.
“I am concerned as a minister, and I am concerned as a Spanish citizen, and simply as a person, about any violation of a fundamental right, evidently. But for that, there are also legal channels: the International Criminal Court and also the Spanish courts when it concerns national citizens,” Marlaska said during an interview with broadcaster TVE.
He reaffirmed that criminal liabilities concerning those who may have been victims will be examined and addressed through the appropriate national and international legal channels, the report stated.
Marlaska also noted that the boarding of ships in international waters carries an international criminal law classification under clear conventions and also within the national legal system because “this would be a deprivation of liberty, absolutely illegal, for the people who were victims of these acts.”
The flotilla, consisting of more than 40 vessels with over 400 activists from 47 countries, was illegally intercepted by the Israeli navy around 80 nautical miles (148 kilometers) from Gaza last Wednesday. The first boats set sail from Barcelona last month.
All activists were abducted in international waters and forcibly taken to Israel’s Ashdod port, from where they were transferred to prison.
After insisting that the priority is for the last 28 members of the flotilla to return to Spain “safe and sound,” Marlaska emphasized that the Spanish government “is absolutely proactive” in this case, “appearing before the International Criminal Court to defend the fundamental rights and public freedoms of Spanish citizens and other citizens.”
“There will be time to respond from a legal perspective. The Spanish government has already stated this from the very beginning, as I mentioned, appearing before the International Criminal Court,” he explained.
Marlaska also reaffirmed that their office of the attorney general has also opened investigative proceedings.
“I believe that, in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms, no one can say that we have not been defending them from minute one,” he added.
The first group of Spanish activists, which landed at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport on Sunday, included former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and Republican Left of Catalonia councilor Jordi Coronas. Several of the activists described abusive treatment while in Israeli custody.
They said they did not have access to lawyers, nor were they able to contact their families, according to the Spanish EFE news agency. They reported not receiving medical assistance, while some were deprived of drinking water and necessary medications, including insulin required by two diabetic detainees, which they said they only received three days after their arrest.
According to their account, armed personnel entered the cells with dogs and pointed them at their heads. They said they were deprived of sleep, moved between cells to prevent them from resting, and were treated “worse than animals.”
Last week, Spain’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced it has expanded its investigation into alleged crimes committed by Israel in Gaza to also cover the recent attack on the flotilla, the Anadolu news agency reported.
“The seizure of vessels belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza has been included in the investigation launched on Sept. 18 to preserve sources of evidence of possible international human rights violations by the Israeli army in Gaza and to cooperate in potential proceedings before international courts,” the statement said.
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The prosecutor’s office requested detailed information regarding the flag of the affected ships, the maritime coordinates where the intervention occurred, the nationality of those on board, the nature of the cargo, and the consular assistance provided to Spanish citizens.
On September 18, prosecutors launched an investigation to determine whether the Israeli army’s actions in Gaza could be considered crimes under Article 607 and subsequent articles of the Spanish Penal Code, which cover serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, the report noted.
(Anadolu, PC)