Ofure Akhigbe
Six South African activists detained by Israel while attempting to reach Gaza as part of an aid flotilla have alleged that they were subjected to harsher treatment than other detainees due to South Africa’s role in a genocide case against Israel.
Speaking on Wednesday after their return to South Africa, the activists said they were singled out by Israeli guards after their nationality was discovered.
Since 2023, South Africa has been pursuing a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — a move that has strained relations between the two countries.
Mandla Mandela, a former lawmaker and grandson of South Africa’s anti-apartheid leader and first Black president, Nelson Mandela, said the activists were “harshly dealt with” because their government had challenged Israel before the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Their treatment was because we are a nation that dared through our government to take apartheid Israel to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and hold them accountable,” Mandela said.
Two of the activists, Fatima Hendricks and Zaheera Soomar, told reporters at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport that they were humiliated while in detention.
“Both of us were forced behind a screen, our heads pushed against the wall, and completely stripped naked in front of Israeli soldiers. This did not happen to other women,” Soomar said. “When they saw our passports, this is how we were treated as South Africans.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has denied allegations of mistreatment, saying all detained activists were given the option to be voluntarily deported without detention.
The six South Africans were among about 450 activists arrested last week when Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla — a fleet of 42 boats attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to the famine-hit enclave.