Nkosi Zwelivelile (Mandla) Mandela, publicly denounced the arrest and particularly aggressive measures against the South African members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, intercepted by Israeli forces during their crossing in the Mediterranean between 1 and 3 October.

According to his testimony, the activists were handcuffed with plastic zip ties, tied tightly and taken to a platform where they were paraded in front of Israeli citizens and international observers, he described.

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Mandla Mandela, grandson of South African leader Nelson Mandela, said the exhibition was intended to show the capture of Israel’s allies in Europe, the West and other parts of the international community.

The South African activist claimed that “his delegation did not receive the same conditions of treatment as others.”

He indicated that while some participants had access to showers after arrest, that right was denied to South African representatives, differential treatment without explanation by the Israeli authorities.

Other members of the flotilla also reported invasive practices during detention.

Activist Soomar denounced that both she and another woman in the South African delegation were stripped of their hijabs and forced to undress in front of Israeli soldiers, actions that were not repeated with women of other nationalities, she said.

The South African activists joined the Global Sumud Humanitarian Flotilla during the stay in the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said. On that occasion, Mandla Mandela warned about the dangerous similarities between Israel’s Zionist regime and South Africa’s apartheid.

For this reason, he considered the legacy of Mandela, a reference of social justice and the struggle for peace, who stated that “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people”

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