Irish prisoners in Israel strip searched, shackled, deprived of sleep and property stolen

It seems that Israel is punishing the Gaza blockade runners that remain in its prisons in an effort to deter others from attempting to break the illegal naval blockade. Irish Friends of Palestine member John Mallon was shackled and handcuffed after refusing a second body search. Meanwhile, Paul Murphy MEP has managed to smuggle out a letter highlighting Israel's total disregard for the human rights of the prisoners. If this is what they do to Members of the European Parliament we can only imagine the the horrors that are inflicted on the thousands of Palestinians in the occupation jails.

BRUSSELS - Irish left-wing MEP Paul Murphy has said he was badly treated after he and 26 activists were detained by Israeli armed forces when they tried to sail to Gaza at the weekend.

"Our boat was almost sunk by the manner in which it was approached and boarded by the Israeli navy. People were shackled and deprived of all personal belongings," he said in a written statement from his detention centre.

"In Givon prison the authorities tried to disorientate us through sleep deprivation and the prison clock recording the wrong time. We have been given no time frame as to how long we will be kept here before the deportation trial. We were denied our right by Israeli law to contact our families within 24 hours of our arrest," he added.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Ship to Gaza campaign, Claudia Saba, noted that Murphy was allowed one phone call to his family "But he called a party spokesperson instead, pretending him to be his brother."...

...Murphy said earlier on his blog he chose to participate in the mini-flotilla "in response to the call from people within Gaza to try to break the siege they suffer under." more

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