"Psychological torture," harassment, and deprivation of food and water: the story of Colau and Coronas's arrest in Israel.

BarcelonaFormer Barcelona mayor Ada Colau and Jordi Coronas, ERC councilor in Barcelona, ​​are now home. After spending more than a month aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla and being detained by IsraelBoth arrived at Barcelona airport on Sunday night, where friends, family, and party colleagues greeted them with applause and hugs. Wearing white T-shirts and gray sweatpants, the same set of clothes they were forced to wear when they entered prison, they both explained to the media what they experienced from the moment they were arrested, rifle in hand, on the ship and, hours later, arrived at the port. "They made us kneel for hours, with our heads on the ground, calling us, insulting us, and humiliating us," Colau explained. Coronas denounced the "psychological torture" to which they were subjected, with deprivation of water, food, medicine, and sleep—they weren't allowed more than two hours at a time. "They told us that doctors were for the people, and that we were animals," she explained.

Both Coronas and Colau were visibly moved by the welcome given by some 200 people who filled the departure of the airlift in Barcelona with Palestinian flags and banners of support. This group also included the top leaders of Comuns and ERC. "The important thing is that we have been through a very difficult experience of illegal detention, of kidnapping in international waters, locked up in a high-security prison where our rights have not been respected. There has been mistreatment and abuse, but nothing compared to what the Palestinian people suffer in Gaza," said Colau. Both she and Coronas took the opportunity to call for the mobilizations to continue in order to put international pressure on the genocide to stop and for the remaining members of the Flotilla to be able to return home "safe and sound." "Goosebumps creeping up my spine when I saw the images of the demonstrations in Barcelona and other cities. This is the only thing that makes sense of what we've done; we brought down the state," the ERC councilor echoed.

Patients who were "suffocating"

After the acts of "violence" they suffered at the port, Colau and Coronas explained that they were transferred to a maximum-security prison in a metal cell that the police constantly banged on during the journey. In prison, they were forced to remove their clothes before being locked in cells with a dozen other people, from which they would not leave (not even in the courtyard) until this Sunday. Through the window, they saw a photograph of destroyed Gaza, with the message in Arabic: "Welcome to the new Gaza."

"We were going to a prison belonging to a fascist state that respects nothing," stressed the former mayor, who was with about fifteen women in a cell measuring six by three meters. She explained that detainees with asthma had to scream for medication because they were "suffocating," like activists who needed insulin. They were not given the right to legal counsel or access to showers during their detention. "Bugger, the only democracy in the Middle East! This is a fascist and genocidal state," the ERC councilor echoed. Now, both will consider what actions they can take to denounce this "human rights violation" and prevent it from going unpunished.

The Cuperos, still detained

Colau and Coronas have put an end to a journey that ended when Israel detained them 80 nautical miles from Gaza, where the mission's fleet wanted to deliver humanitarian aid. Israeli soldiers then transferred them, along with the other 470 activists from the Flotilla, to a prison in southern Israel. Finally, both signed a document accepting their voluntary deportation so they could return to Spain on a flight to Barajas Airport with nineteen other activists—including Juan Bordera, a Compromís deputy in the Valencian Parliament—paid for by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Upon landing in Madrid, they were greeted by the Minister of Health, Mónica García, with a medical team in case they needed assistance. From there, they took another flight to El Prat with four other Catalan activists who were on the Flotilla: Guillem Esteban, Sofía Peris, Laia Rosell, and Celia Vélez.

Neither CUP deputy Pilar Castillejo nor CUP leader Adrià Plazas were part of this group. Both refused to sign the voluntary extradition document and remain in Ketziot prison for exerting "international pressure" against the genocide, which has already claimed more than 67,000 Palestinian lives. Signing the document meant acknowledging that their entry into Israel had been "illegal," and that is something neither of them was willing to do, according to party sources. Refusing voluntary deportation means opening proceedings in which they will have to testify before a judge, who will then order their expulsion.

According to Colau, it had been agreed that some activists would sign this document so they could go outside and explain what happened, but Israel decided to transfer them to prison anyway. "It was part of a coordinated action; some signed [the deportation] and others didn't," she asserted. Coronas also recounted that some police officers ended up signing a document on her behalf, without her consent, acknowledging that they had entered the boat illegally and that the Israeli state would retain the vessels.

Eight activists on hunger strike

At this point, there are still 28 Spanish activists detained. Among them are the three Podemos representatives aboard the Flotilla, Lucía Muñoz, Serigne Mbayé, and Alejandra Martínez, who have also refused to sign the deportation order. In addition, Plazas, Martínez, Ariadna Masmitjà from Catalonia, and Simón Vidal from Valencia have begun a hunger strike to denounce their situation, along with six other activists. Of the 478 activists detained as part of the Flotilla, Israel claims it has already deported around 200 in recent days. One of the first were Italians—a group of about 20 landed in the country on Saturday—while 147 of various nationalities were sent to Türkiye.

The Flotilla's defense team has denounced the conditions in which the detained activists are being held. One of the most high-profile cases was that of Greta Thunberg, who was a victim of "mistreatment" by Israel, according to some of the activists upon arriving in Turkey. Thunberg has been beaten and subjected to "degrading" treatment by staff who dragged her on the ground and tried to force her to kiss an Israeli flag. According to The Guardian, a Swedish diplomatic representative visited her in prison and noted, in a communication to her government, her state of dehydration and the rashes that have appeared on her skin. She suggested they were probably caused by bedbugs. The lawyer for the Swedish Flotilla activists has announced that they will report the case to the UN.

The activists deported to Turkey also explained that, during their arrest, Israeli officials restricted their access to water and food for more than 24 hours, leading some of them to try to drink from the toilet, and that their hands were tied behind their backs. The Flotilla's legal team has denounced the "serious abuses" suffered by the activists, which Israel denies. "The accusations about the mistreatment of Greta Thunberg and other detainees of the Hamas-Sumud Flotilla are blatant lies. All legal rights of the detainees are fully respected," the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated.