Representatives of the Swedish Embassy in Tel Aviv were granted "consular access" to nine Swedes being held in the Ketziot prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel on Friday, confirms the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to TT.
According to the British The Guardian, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, after a meeting with Greta Thunberg in the prison, emailed her relatives.
"She told us about dehydration. She has received inadequate amounts of both water and food. She also stated that she had developed a rash that she suspects is caused by bed bugs. She talked about harsh treatment and said that she had been sitting on hard surfaces for long periods," the Ministry for Foreign Affairs wrote in the email, which The Guardian has seen.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirms to TT that they are in contact with the relatives and with "Israeli authorities to emphasize the importance of swift handling and the possibility of returning home to Sweden”.
They have also emphasized the importance of "meeting medical needs" – and "immediately meeting the needs for food and clean water", as well as the possibility of meeting with legal counsel, says the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' press service on Saturday evening.
Some of the Swedes have been in contact with legal counsel, according to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Sent to Turkey
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs states in a statement on Saturday that 137 of the detained activists have been deported.
The individuals have been sent to Turkey. None of them are Swedes. They are from the USA, the United Kingdom, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Malaysia, Bahrain, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Turkey.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that some activists "are resisting the legal deportation process" in order to stay in Israel and not voluntarily agree to deportation.
"Regardless, all participants in this publicity stunt will be deported as soon as possible", the department writes.
400 detained
In addition to Greta Thunberg, the Swedes include, among others, Member of Parliament Lorena Delgado Varas, according to the organization Global Movement to Gaza.
Previously, Israel has confirmed that a first group of 26 Italian activists has been expelled from Israel. It is unclear if they are included in the 137 deported.
Over 400 people were detained and taken to Israel when Global Sumud Flotilla's more than 40 ships approached the Gaza Strip this week. The vast majority of the ships, which were intended to deliver humanitarian aid and thus break Israel's Gaza blockade, were boarded in international waters.
