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Israel Releases 14 Flotilla Journalists as Detainee Alleges ‘Extreme Brutality’

Press‑freedom advocates, including a UN expert, condemned the detentions, urging unhindered media access to Gaza.

Overview

  • The Committee to Protect Journalists confirmed that 14 reporters detained on October 8 aboard the Conscience were freed by October 12, with one released earlier on October 10.
  • U.S.-born photojournalist Noa Avishag Schnall alleged beatings, hanging from shackles, threats of rape, repeated strip‑searches, looting of belongings, and denial of water and medical care.
  • Journalists told CPJ they identified themselves as press yet were zip‑tied, had credentials or notebooks seized, and were held for 12 hours as the ship was taken to Ashdod.
  • Adalah, representing detainees, said authorities treated reporters like activists and issued arrest orders and long‑term entry bans against several journalists.
  • UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan called the arrests an attack on unarmed civilians and a violation of international law, while CPJ said the IDF media desk did not respond to its inquiries.