Socialist Party MEP in a three minute phone call from Givon prision in Israel listened into by the prison authorities gave an account of the poor treatment he and his fellow prisoners have endured.

Paul reported that:

“Our boat was almost sunk by the manner in which it was approached and boarded by the Israeli navy. People were shackled and deprived of all personal belongings.

“In Givon prison the authorities tried to disorientate us through sleep deprivation and the removal of our watches and the prison clock recording the wrong time. We have been given no time frame as to how long we will be kept here before the deportation trial. We were denied our right by Isreali law to contact our families within 24 hours of our arrest.

“On the basis of protest action we have engaged in our treatment has improved and we have had books and writing materials returned to us.

“We are due to meet the Irish ambassador today and have received some consular assistance. We call upon the Irish government to demand from the Israeli authorities our immediate release.

“We remain defiant and unabashed at our mission which again has served to expose the criminal nature of the Israeli state in its blockading of Gaza from those of us who wish to provide aid in order to alleviate the poverty and suffering the people there endure.”