Thursday, June 3, 2010

Flotilla journalist recounts ordeal


Press TV

"A Press TV journalist detained on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla describes mistreatment of activists attacked on the aid convoy and his own ordeal in Israeli custody....

"They came down and we heard gunfire... at this stage we did not know if they were rubber bullets or live ammunition but we heard gunfire," he said, adding that the activists used objects at hand and mostly their bare hands to defend themselves.

The soldiers tried to open fire with their machine guns when they faced resistance from activists who held them back from approaching the cameras broadcasting the course of events live from the main deck.

The Press TV correspondent added that the volunteers successfully disarmed some of the soldiers, taking away their guns with bare hands, when the Israeli side started using live bullets causing fatalities.

"A man was shot right in the head," Ghani said, explaining that the murder indicated the soldiers had enough time to aim and that the decision to shoot was not made on impulse or out of fear.

According to Ghani, the gunfire continued for quite some time even after the activists had raised their white flags.

Rejecting Israeli media reports about the alleged use of guns by the activists, Ghani said the only weapons carried by the volunteers were those seized from the Israeli soldiers. The guns were taken and their bullets were removed from the weapons and preserved to be used as evidence later, he explained....."

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