Korean activists say Israeli captors physically and sexually assaulted flotilla activists

Kim A-hyun, additionally recognized by her activist moniker “Haecho,” speaks at a press convention held on the Inexperienced Hospital in Seoul on Might 28, 2026, the place activists who have been captured by Israeli forces whereas trying to ship assist to Gaza testified concerning the abuse they confronted by the hands of Israeli forces. (Choi Hyeon-su/Hankyoreh)

Two Korean activists who have been detained by Israeli forces after trying to interrupt the siege on Gaza and ship assist recounted abusive remedy by their captors to native press on Thursday. 

“After totally armed Israeli troopers searched my physique, I used to be dragged alone to a darkish delivery container. The lights switched on, and every time I seemed on the mild, they hit me within the face. Each time my head was bowed, I used to be compelled to look again up on the mild,” stated Kim A-hyun, 28, an anti-war activist who additionally goes by the identify Haecho. 

“[The Israeli soldiers] had tactical gloves on. After I used to be dealt a second blow to my cheek, I might hear a shrill sound in my ear. Following the third, I began to bleed from my nostril and began to gag,” she stated. 

Kim Dong-hyeon, one other activist who had participated in a humanitarian assist flotilla certain for the Gaza Strip, testified to comparable situations. 
 
“My fingers have been tied, my physique was searched, and I used to be constantly pummeled and kicked as I used to be being taken away. My wrists saved bleeding on account of getting been certain so tightly, and I couldn’t really feel my fingers. My whole physique, together with my head and my legs, was in excruciating ache,” he stated. 

“Once I began hyperventilating, I started to suppose that it was very doubtless that I’d die,” he went on. 
 
The 2 activists declare that they suffered critical well being points, together with muscle harm and listening to loss, after being assaulted throughout their detention.
 
The civic group Korean Flotilla for a Free Palestine organized a press convention on the Inexperienced Hospital in Seoul’s Jungnang District on Thursday to listen to from the activists about their experiences and to sentence Israel’s abuse and torture of flotilla activists. 

The convention got here per week after two have been launched on Might 21 and returned to South Korea on Friday.
 
The activists have been admitted to the Inexperienced Hospital on the day of their return, and their medical examinations recognized Kim Dong-hyeon with rhabdomyolysis, or “rhabdo,” a critical medical situation through which muscle tissue breaks down quickly, typically after affected by extreme bodily trauma, abuse or bodily strain.
 
His blood take a look at outcomes confirmed muscle harm markers at greater than 30 instances the traditional degree.
 
Not simply cuts and bruises
 
Kim A-hyun was recognized with a perforated eardrum because of the beatings she took to the face. Jonathan Victor “Seungjoon” Lee, a Korean American who was arrested alongside her, sustained a damaged rib and different accidents after being tased. 
 
“We’re witnessing signs of rhabdomyolysis, that are often obvious in victims of business accident instances involving crushes or those that have been severely injured in visitors accidents. The activists have been launched on Wednesday, but when that had been delayed by even a day and so they had been subjected to extra beatings, they’d have suffered from extreme hurt,” stated Dr. Lim Sang-hyuk, the director of Inexperienced Hospital. 
 
The activists gave detailed testimonies of the abuse and torture they suffered throughout their arrest and aboard the jail boat. 

“As quickly as we boarded the boat, they pointed weapons at us and subjected us to physique searches. They hurled racist insults and curses at us all the time. Male-passing folks have been tasered, whereas girls and folks perceived as feminine have been subjected to sexual abuse,” stated Kim A-hyun.
 
“We have been compelled to kneel with our fingers tied and press our heads towards the bottom for 3 hours, so we have been unable to maneuver. We might hear the sounds of the Israeli troopers mocking us, barking out orders, beating us, and tasering us. The screams from our fellow vacationers as they have been being assaulted made it laborious to breathe,” she stated.
 
Kim Dong-hyeon stated that troopers filmed him whereas he was being strip searched. 

“Whereas being violently subjected to a full physique search whereas bare and having my passport and belongings taken from me, round ten Israeli troopers recorded this course of with cameras, obnoxiously capturing with their flashes on,” he stated.  

“Activists saved shouting ‘Free Palestine’ even when detained on the jail ship, which led to 1 particular person turning into severely injured after troopers fired rubber bullets. No less than three others sustained critical accidents from extra rubber bullets and bean bag rounds,” Kim Dong-hyeon recounted.
 
Kim’s fingers trembled as spoke, his recounting of his expertise punctuated with shaky sighs. Even after he completed talking, he saved his fists tightly clenched, as if his physique nonetheless felt the worry and stress of what he had endured.

Kim A-hyun, Kim Dong-hyeok, and Jonathan Victor “Seungjoon” Lee — all activists launched by Israel after being captured as they tried to interrupt the siege on Gaza and ship assist — maintain their fists up and chant throughout a press convention held on the Inexperienced Hospital in Seoul on Might 28, 2026, the place they testified concerning the abuse they confronted by the hands of Israeli forces. (Choi Hyeon-su/Hankyoreh)

 
Authorities should denounce Israel, activists say
 
The Korean Flotilla for a Free Palestine and different organizations condemned Israel for portraying activists as mendacity concerning the abuse they endured. 

“Regardless of clear testimony and medical proof from activists around the globe documenting Israel’s abuses, the terrorist group that’s Israel continues to disclaim the reality and smear these activists as liars. We strongly condemn these makes an attempt to distort actuality,” the teams stated. 
 
The teams referred to as on South Korea’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs to take motion past merely summoning the Israeli ambassador, urging it to strongly condemn the ambassador and expel him from the nation directly. 

“The federal government should pull out all of the stops to put sanctions on Israel, a terrorist group committing conflict crimes, and sever all ties of cooperation,” the teams stated. 
 
The organizations additionally blasted the Overseas Ministry’s resolution to invalidate Kim A-hyun’s passport and demanded that or not it’s reinstated. 

When she grew to become the primary Korean to affix the humanitarian flotilla to Gaza in October 2025, Kim A-hyun was arrested and detained by Israeli forces, and solely launched upon receiving consular help.
 
When the Overseas Ministry grew to become conscious that she was planning to make one other voyage to Gaza, it invalidated her passport on security grounds, however she had already left the nation. Kim is planning to reapply for a passport and is scheduled to carry a gathering with the Overseas Ministry on Tuesday. 
 
The Kyriakos X, the boat Kim Dong-hyeon was on, was intercepted by the Israeli Navy in worldwide waters close to Cyprus within the Mediterranean Sea on Might 18. Two days later, on Might 20 (native time), Kim A-hyun, an activist with the Korean Flotilla for a Free Palestine, was aboard the Lina Al Nabulsi and was crusing from Italy to Gaza when she was additionally captured by Israeli forces.
 
The 2 activists have been launched by Israel after being deported on Might 20.

By Jang Hyeon-eun, employees reporter

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