Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has spoken publicly for the first time about her alleged mistreatment while detained by Israeli authorities following her participation in the Freedom Flotilla. The flotilla aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians under blockade in Gaza. However, the mission was intercepted earlier this month by Israeli forces, who boarded multiple ships using water cannons and took more than 400 people into custody. Thunberg and her fellow activists were held in a high-security prison. She was released after several days but now claims she experienced physical abuse, threats, and harassment during her time in custody.

‘Tied me and took selfies’

“The guards have no empathy or humanity, and they keep taking selfies with me. There’s a lot I don’t remember,” Thunberg told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet. “They dragged me to the opposite side from where the others were sitting, and I had the flag around me the whole time. They hit and kicked me.” She added, “So much is happening at once. You’re in shock. You’re in pain, but you go into a state of trying to stay calm.” Thunberg described seeing around 50 people on their knees with handcuffs and foreheads on the ground. She claimed Israeli guards had put her hands in tight cable ties and lined up to take selfies with her while she sat restrained. Thunberg also alleged that detainees were at one point threatened with being gassed. “Then guards came and said, ‘We are going to gas you.’ It was standard for them to say that. They held up a gas cylinder and threatened to press it against us,” she said. Her luggage was reportedly returned covered in graffiti, including images of the Israeli flag, an erect penis, and the words ‘Wh**e Greta’.

‘Don’t want to share what I was subjected to’

Even after what she went through, Thunberg wants attention to stay on the Palestinians suffering under the blockade and famine, not on her own experience.“Personally, I don’t want to share what I was subjected to because I don’t want it to make headlines and ‘Greta has been tortured,’ because that’s not the story here,” she said.Earlier this month, it was reported that Thunberg spent time in a cell infested with bedbugs, with inadequate food and water, and developed rashes. Other flotilla members confirmed the harsh treatment, with journalist Lorenzo D’Agostino claiming Thunberg was “wrapped in the Israeli flag and paraded like a trophy.” The Israeli embassy has denied all allegations, stating, “All detainees from the Hamas-Sumud provocation were given access to water, food and toilets; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights, including access to medical care, were fully upheld.” Thunberg was part of a Global Sumud Flotilla consisting of 437 activists, parliamentarians, and lawyers aboard more than 40 vessels. This marks her second arrest during similar aid missions this year.