Derya Gulnaz Ozcan
23 May 2026•Update: 23 May 2026
Greek activists who were illegally detained by Israel on the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla arrived Friday in Athens and recounted Israeli mistreatment and torture during their detention.
The group of 19 activists landed at the Athens International Airport at around 9 pm local time (1800GMT), where they were greeted by pro-Palestinian supporters, family members and friends.
Carrying Palestinian flags, supporters chanted pro-Palestine slogans, including solidarity with Gaza and condemned cooperation with Israel.
Phaedra Vokali, among the activists who arrived in Greece, said at the airport that some of them had been injured due to Israel's mistreatment.
"There were also those among us who were in such terrible condition that they could not walk. After all this torture, they took us to prisons at the Port of Ashdod," she said.
Vokali noted that the "inhumane conditions" continued there as well.
Noting that they were detained under very harsh conditions, she said they had no water, no food to eat and no toilet paper.
"We were lying almost on top of each other in containers. Compared to what Palestinians have endured for decades, what we experienced is nothing," added Vokali.
She stressed that they would continue fighting for a free Palestine, saying, if there is no punishment, these things will continue to happen.
"We all need to get off our couches and do something, otherwise it will be our turn too," she said.
'They tried to dehumanize us'
Another activist, Christini Desi-Luka, underlined that they had undertaken a peaceful mission to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
"We know very well that Israel was trying to block every kind of aid effort that would help the Palestinian people by every means possible," she said, noting that Tel Aviv is "trying to destroy the Palestinian people and is in fact carrying out genocide against a people."
Desi-Luka noted that the Western world, including countries such as Greece and the US, is turning a blind eye to the situation.
She said there was not a single flotilla activist who did not face Israeli torture during detention.
"They tried to dehumanize us. We faced plastic bullets, beatings, and thirst."
She also urged the international community and Greeks to react to what is happening in Palestine.
*Writing by Burak Bir
