ANKARA
A member of the European Parliament said on Tuesday she would sue Israel after she was arrested and held for more than 24 hours alongside other activists protesting the blockade of Gaza.
Ana Miranda Paz, a member of Spain’s Galician Nationalist Bloc, was released from Israeli custody on Tuesday morning and returned to Madrid.
She was among activists aboard the Marianne of Gothenburg when the vessel was boarded by the Israeli navy on Monday and escorted to the port of Ashdod. The ship was part of the Third Gaza Freedom Flotilla seeking to highlight Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian enclave and deliver aid.
In a statement at the Spanish parliament, Miranda Paz said she would take legal action in the International Criminal Court over the “pirate” intervention and human rights violations.
She accused Israeli personnel of using disproportionate force when dealing with those aboard the Marianne, claimed her arms and legs were bruised.
Once at Ashdod, she said the activists were detained and the passwords for their mobile phones demanded.
She called for those activists still in custody to be released and announced she would join another flotilla to Gaza.
“In these ships there were politicians, representatives of civil society, journalists, writers,”she said. “At least we have broken the silence around the blockade on Gaza.”
Earlier, Miranda Paz’s party criticized Israel for capturing the Marianne in international waters.
Israel has maintained the blockade since 2007, when Palestinian group Hamas took control of the territory.
