Brussels, 16/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - Paul Murphy, MEP (GUE), who was held in Israel from 4 to 11 November for taking part in the “Flotilla for Peace” to Gaza, called on the European Union on Tuesday 15 November to react to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and to Israel's action against those taking part in the Flotilla. “I am calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement and have written to the president of the European Parliament to demand the revocation of the credentials of the Israeli Embassy staff from this institution”, he explained during a press conference in Strasbourg, during which he spoke of the conditions of his arrest and ensuing detention. He accused the Israeli authorities of having lied to the international community by making only the Israeli version available to the public. He said they had also lied to activists by promising them, for example, a speedy return to Ireland. Thus, he said, the Israeli authorities voluntarily and on several occasions made the members of the Flotilla miss their flights back to Ireland, blaming the airlines for the missed flights.
On the subject of his arrest, he explained that the two peace flotilla boats had been “violently” boarded by heavily armed Israeli forces in international waters.
Murphy denounced the conditions in which he was detained, saying he was allowed just one 3-minute monitored phone call in 7 days, endured sleep deprivation, and was locked in 21 hours a day. Murphy's European Parliament laptop and his mobile phone were confiscated and not returned. He underlined that protests made by Flotilla participants, as well as international mobilisation and the action taken by the Irish Embassy, meant that those who had taken part in the Flotilla had the status of political prisoner, which includes the right of free association and access to reading material.
Paul Murphy pointed out that, although “the conditions we were kept in were very poor” they were “nothing like the conditions faced by the Palestinians who are incarcerated by the Israeli regime in the open-air prison that is Gaza”. (CG/transl.jl)