DayofPal—German Gaza Sumud flotilla activist Anna Liedtke has filed a criminal complaint in Israel, exposing that she was sexually assaulted and raped by female guards during her detention.
25-year-old Liedtke was among activists aboard a humanitarian aid boat heading to Gaza when it was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters in October. She was detained for five days before being deported to Jordan.
According to her account, she faced repeated strip searches, physical abuse, humiliation, and sexual assault, which she believes were intended to intimidate activists and silence their support for Palestine.
“It’s clear they want to break our will and silence us, making this so traumatic that we will never talk about Palestine again,” Liedtke said.
Her lawyers have submitted the complaint to Israeli authorities, including the attorney general, the Israel Prison Service, and the department responsible for investigating prison guards, demanding an official investigation into her account.
Liedtke said her experience reflects a wider pattern of abuse faced by Palestinian prisoners and other activists in Israeli detention.
She added that speaking out was necessary to challenge a culture of impunity in Israel, saying: “Whenever we are silent, they will do it to another person.”
The Israeli military and prison service have denied the accusations, describing them as “unsubstantiated” and rejecting claims of rape, sexual assault, or systematic abuse by their personnel.
Released Palestinian detainees have provided harrowing accounts of systemic sexual violence in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including facilities like Sde Teiman, Megiddo, and Petah Tikva.
Testimonies detail seven forms of abuse, including gang rape, assault with objects, forced nudity, sexual torture of genitals, and the use of attack dogs.
Multiple male detainees reported being attacked by police dogs and, in some cases, directly subjected to sexual assault by animals while completely restrained.
Female detainees also shared testimonies of being strip-searched, groped, threatened with rape, and touched on sensitive organs by Israeli soldiers.
Some detainees report being forced to witness the sexual abuse of other inmates and being coerced into repeating degrading sexual words.
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