Australian flotilla activists arrive home alleging sexual assault and beatings in Israeli detention

Australians returning home from detention in Israel say they were abused, tortured and demeaned while in custody and have asked to meet the prime minister, Anthony Albanese . Nine of the 11 Australians who joined more than 400 people from around the world on an aid flotilla to Gaza returned home on Monday, where they were met with hundreds of supporters after landing at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports. The activists, who were detained in Israel after its forces began intercepting vessels en route to Gaza on 18 May, were greeted with applause and chants of “free, free Palestine” at the international arrivals gates. Dressed in grey sweatsuits inscribed with the Israeli prison service logo – though most had crossed the icons out and added missives of support for Palestine – the activists stepped into the arms of their loved ones before sharing their allegations of abuse. Treatment of Global Sumud Flotilla participants sparked international backlash after Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted a video of himself taunting detainees as they knelt with their heads on the ground and their hands zip-tied behind their backs. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email On Monday the Australian climate activist Violet CoCo alleged she had been detained by Israeli soldiers at gunpoint, stripped of her clothes and pushed into a shipping container where she was beaten, kicked and sexually assaulted before being thrown into a prison yard. …