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Japanese Flotilla Participant Details Harsh Treatment in Israeli Custody After Oct. 1 Detention

In a phone interview reported from Istanbul, the 62-year-old Netherlands-based woman said she lacked clean water in custody and was deported on Oct. 7.

Overview

  • Mikako Yasumura, a 62-year-old Japanese national living in the Netherlands and originally from Otsu, was detained by Israeli forces on Oct. 1 while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza by sea.
  • She told Kyodo News she was "not treated as a human," saying she sometimes received only one meal a day and drank water from a cell sink because no clean drinking water was provided.
  • According to her account, Israeli naval vessels sprayed water at the flotilla before she was taken into custody.
  • She said she was expelled from the country on Oct. 7; the reports do not detail her legal status or any official findings related to her detention.
  • The Kyodo dispatch, republished by regional outlets, notes she crewed on a flotilla that departed Spain in early September and included high-profile participants such as Greta Thunberg.