Lukas Stamellos who on board the “Estelle” ship when Israeli navy intervened, argued troops wounded six people by an electric shock device.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Stamellos said that they saw the Israeli navy at around 8 a.m. on Saturday.
“We were in touch with the Israeli navy by a wireless radio at around 11 a.m.. They told us, via the wireless radio, that we had entered a restricted zone, that the captain would be responsible for the security of the passengers, and that our lives would be in danger if we did not stop,” Stamellos indicated.”Israeli troops wanted to change the route of “Estelle”. Five Israeli naval boats approached our ship and their troops came on board “Estelle”,” Stamellos noted.
A member of the “Ship to Gaza” and a computer technician, Stamellos expressed that “once the Israeli troops came on board the “Estelle”, they did not do anything”.
“However, later on, the Israeli troops used an electric shock device and caused the injury of six people,” Stamellos stated.
“Once the Israeli troops were in control on board, they seized our personal items and memory cards. However, all of the scenes we sent before the Israeli troops came on board are now in our hands,” Stamellos said.
The videos shot and photographs taken just before the Israeli troops came on board the “Estelle” all show clearly how the Israeli troops were waiting in boats.
All of the videos and photographs show how the activists were waiting with life jackets on and the ladder, heavy weapons and equipments on an Israeli attack boat.
Greek citizens return home
Calling on European parliamentarians, administrators and the international community, activist Stamellos said that they expected all these groups to “do something” after the “Estelle” incident.
Asked when he had decided to travel to Gaza on board the “Estelle” ship, Stamellos said that he wanted to help the people of Gaza after other ships set sail in 2010.
“All of the Greek citizens on board returned home. Three Israeli activists were arrested by Israeli troops while close to 10 Swedish activists expected to be released after a day,” Stamellos noted.
“Estelle” ship was on its way to Gaza to provide humanitarian assistance to the region and to break the embargo imposed on Gaza when it was stopped by Israeli navy and taken to the Ashdod Port.
Israeli authorities had announced that the activists on board would be deported.
(Anatolia News Agency)
