Tunis — Fifteen Tunisians who had been detained in the Zionist entity's occupation prisons for their participation in the "Global Sumud Flotilla" to break the blockade on Gaza arrived on Wednesday evening at Tunis-Carthage Airport (Terminal 2). This is the second group of "freed" Tunisians to return, following an initial group of ten who arrived last Sunday.
The second group was released by the occupation authorities and deported to Jordan on Tuesday after six days in detention, during which they were held in harsh conditions and went on a hunger strike to protest their arrest, according to statements many of them gave to TAP news agency.
Hundreds of people, family members, friends, Palestinian cause and human rights activists, journalists, and representatives of civil society organisations, greeted the 15 returnees at the airport.
Among the organisations present were the Tunisian Red Crescent, the Tunisian Scouts, and the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, represented by its president Ziad Dabbar, as journalists were among those freed.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The second group includes Member of Parliament Mohamed Ali, National Journalists' Union executive board member Yassine Gaidi, journalists Mazen Abdellaoui and Wael Naouar, as well as Sirine Ghrairi, Fidaa Othmani, Mohab Senoussi, Louay Chaarni, Khalil Habibi, Achraf Kouja, Jihad Ferjani, Nabil Chennoufi, Mohamed Amine Hamzaoui, Ghassan Henchiri, and Ghassan Kalai.
The first group, which returned last Sunday from the Zionist entity via Turkey, included Mohamed Ali Mohieddine, Aziz Miliani, Noureddine Selouaj, Abdallah Massaoudi, Houssam Eddine Ramadi, Ziad Jeballah, Hamza Bouzouida, Mohamed Mrad, Anis Abbassi, and Lotfi Hajji.
As soon as they exited the airport terminal, the returnees were warmly and enthusiastically welcomed by the crowd awaiting them.
They began giving media statements describing the circumstances of their arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment in the Negev desert by the occupation forces, up until their release and transfer to Jordan.
Activist Wael Naouar gave a speech through a loudspeaker outside Terminal 2, recounting that after the flotilla participants were "kidnapped" in international waters in the Mediterranean and taken to Ashdod Port, they were denied food and medicine, even though the group included people with diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. They were subjected to beatings, psychological threats, and denial of medical care.
n response, the detainees, including the Tunisians, went on a hunger strike while held in Ketziot Prison in the Negev Desert--the closest Zionist prison to Gaza, notorious for "torturing" prisoners, until their release following national and international pressure.
He added that throughout their detention and imprisonment, the detainees kept chanting "Free Palestine." He said, "We Tunisians, along with detainees from around the world, made our peoples proud and stood firm and united."
He particularly highlighted the incident when National Security Minister of the Zionist entity Itamar Ben-Gvir visited Ashdod Port to oversee the detention operation, and Tunisian detainee Mohab Senoussi confronted him by raising a hidden Palestinian flag in his face, calling him a "child killer" and defiantly declaring "Free Palestine."
He said that the testimonies of the returning Tunisians will be documented and presented at a press conference to be scheduled later by the organizers of the Maghreb "Sumud Flotilla."
He added that "the flotilla was a success and managed to reach Gaza's territorial waters," despite most of its vessels being seized in international waters.
Mohab Senoussi, who is awaiting the press conference to share details of the violence he experienced, told TAP news agency in a brief statement that he was subjected to "severe violence for about 25 minutes" after confronting National Security Minister of the Zionist entity Itamar Ben-Gvir, raising the Palestinian flag in his face, and shouting "Long live Palestine."
He said he underwent initial medical examinations and would undergo "further tests in Tunisia to make sure there are no serious health issues."
Member of Parliament Mohamed Ali told TAP that the occupation authorities "cut off sugar supplies to hunger strikers during the six days of detention" and that he himself was assaulted despite the Zionists knowing his status as a parliamentarian.
He added that the occupation authorities offered to deport him early in the detention period after the intervention of foreign diplomats from countries that have diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity. However, he refused the offer and insisted on staying with his companions.
Journalist and representative of the National Journalists' Union Yassine Gaidi told TAP that "the decisive moments of the flotilla began when it was bombarded with incendiary bombs by occupation forces' drones in Greek territorial waters. This was followed by threats of violent intervention from Israeli naval boats.
The participants responded by insisting on continuing toward Gaza. The vessels were then seized and taken to Ashdod Port, and the detainees were transferred to the Negev Prison, stages that were all marked by inhumane and disgraceful treatment."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He added that the detainees went on hunger strike at different times. As for himself, he began his strike on Wednesday night when the threat of hijacking and diverting the flotilla emerged, and he continued until their deportation to Jordan on Tuesday.
Louay Chaarni told TAP that "Tunisians and Arabs were subjected to more abuse and humiliation than other nationalities, including attempts to use them for propaganda, threats at gunpoint, water shortages, bans on leaving their cells, and denial of hygiene."
He added, "We used the time we spent in the cells to raise the voice of Palestine and tell the occupation that we are not afraid. We prayed inside the cells and affirmed that we will return and will not stop trying to break the blockade on Gaza.
We spent six days in detention, and even when some Tunisians were taken to solitary confinement, they failed to break us, we did not sign the deportation papers."
He continued, "What pained me, like the other detainees, was that the Zionist naval forces stopped us about an hour before entering Ashdod Port to make us hear and witness the bombing of Gaza that was taking place at that moment.
But instead of intimidating us, it motivated us to continue working to break the blockade. And as we speak, there is another (humanitarian) flotilla on its way to Gaza."
