When news broke that hundreds of activists from around the world had been detained by Israeli forces during their flotilla mission to deliver aid to Gaza, many expressed concern for their well-being and safety. Thankfully, many of these humanitarian volunteers have since been released and repatriated to their respective countries.
Malaysian actress Ardell Aryana’s husband, actor Nadzmi Adhwa, revealed the physical abuse his wife endured after being captured. In an interview with Astro Awani, singer Zizi Kirana also recounted the torture that she and other activists were subjected to while in Israeli detention. Here’s what happened:
Zizi Kirana revealed that she and her team were forced to kneel in a commando rest position under the scorching sun for nearly two hours before being allowed inside the illegal state. She and a Palestinian activist were the last to exit the boat, and as she tried to calm herself by reciting verses from the Quran, an Israeli soldier snatched the holy book from her hands and ordered her to put it away.
When it was the artist’s turn to go through immigration, she was ordered to remove her shoes, socks and hijab. She refused to comply with the latter two requests, explaining to the soldiers that it is haram for a Muslim woman to remove her hijab in public. The Israeli militants then used physical force to remove the singer’s hijab, despite her and the other activists’ objections. “When they took off my hijab, I prayed to Allah to punish them for their cruelty,” she said, struggling to hold back tears.
She and the other women were then taken to an area where they were ordered to remove all their clothing for a full body search. When they reached the immigration checkpoint, an IDF soldier mockingly greeted them, saying, “Welcome to Israel,” before revealing that they knew she was a famous person in Malaysia. “When they asked if I had ever been to Israel, I told them to check my passport and proudly said, ‘You are not recognised in my country.’ I said it to their faces,” she recalled.
When the reporter asked Zizi whether the soldiers showed any fear in their eyes, she described them as cowards, saying they could not look her in the eye. She also recalled being dragged around and having her hijab forcibly removed once more on the way to the detention centre. As they had been deprived of their hijabs, Zizi, Ardell and the other Muslim detainees improvised by using T-shirts given to them by fellow activists as makeshift head coverings. They also used blankets to cover themselves in order to maintain modesty during prayers.
Sadly, all their belongings, except for their passports, were confiscated and never returned to them upon release. Fortunately, the deportation process went smoothly, and Zizi, along with her companions, expressed gratitude to everyone who welcomed them upon their arrival in Türkiye.
Here’s a snippet of the full interview below:
Sources: YouTube, Twitter, AstroAwani, TheStar
