Released activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla have alleged systematic sexual violence by Israeli forces during detention, including the use of a firearm to penetrate detainees, as Rome prosecutors formally open a criminal investigation into kidnapping, torture and sexual assault.
The allegations, published on Friday by the flotilla's organisers in a statement on Telegram, describe what they call a coordinated campaign of abuse aboard an Israeli naval vessel converted into a makeshift prison, with at least 15 cases of sexual abuse documented and 12 alleged assaults on a single ship. Israel's Prison Service has denied all claims, describing them as 'false and entirely without factual basis.'
