South Korean activists claim sexual abuse by Israeli soldiers

SEOUL: Three South Korean activists who were detained and then released during a humanitarian mission to the Gaza Strip this month claimed Thursday they were sexually and physically abused at the hands of Israeli soldiers, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Kim Ah-hyun and Kim Dong-hyeon, and Korean American Jonathan Victor Lee, made the claims during a press conference held days after they arrived in the country following their release last week.

The three had boarded two different aid boats bound for Gaza before being intercepted and detained by Israeli forces.

Some of the abuse allegations have been raised before, but the Israeli Embassy in Seoul has denied the activists were either detained or mistreated.

“The men were tortured with tasers, while the women were sexually harassed and sexually assaulted,” Kim Ah-hyun said of the people who travelled with her.

“We could hear the sounds of the soldiers mocking and giving orders and the sounds of the travellers being beaten. The screams were so long; it was suffocating.”

One sailor was shot in the thigh but was left unattended, while the container where they were held was “full of people with broken bones” who received no medical treatment, she said.

Kim Dong-hyeon also detailed the horrifying conditions in which they were held, saying he could hear the sounds of people being tortured and “persistent sexual abuse”.

“(We were) beaten a countless number of times over five to 10 minutes, and there was constant bleeding from our hands, which were tied with cable ties,” he said.

Lee gave a similar account of the events.

Many were forced to watch their peers being assaulted and suffered serious injuries from flashbangs and beanbag rounds, he said.

Lee claimed to have a broken rib from being beaten and receiving electric shocks from the soldiers.

During the press conference, which was held at the Green Hospital, the hospital’s head, Im Sang-hyuk, said a medical exam found Kim Dong-hyeon has rhabdomyolysis, Kim Ah-hyun has a perforated eardrum, and Lee has a broken rib and a round mark left by a taser.

Kim Ah-hyun was previously detained by Israeli forces in October while attempting to enter Gaza without authorisation and had her passport revoked by the South Korean government.

She said she is scheduled to have an interview with lawyers and foreign ministry officials Tuesday before applying for a new passport.

– Bernama-Yonhap

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

المصدر: New Straits Times