In addition, two Australian activists, Surya McEwen and Juliet Lamont now suffer extreme conditions in Israeli detention. Their Gaza-bound vessels were stopped cold by the Israeli navy. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed the detention of at least seven Australians in Israel. This comes after a volatile situation that unfolded on Thursday.
McEwen, a 40-year-old care worker and Lamont, a 54-year-old documentary filmmaker have both been arrested. They were joining a flotilla that sought to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in Gaza. Both activists are said to have been subjected to harsh punishment during their detention. McEwen recounted his truly nightmarish experience to Australian officials. For several weeks, he was packed into a cage with 80+ other animals, without food or water.
Second, the kind of treatment they experienced has alarmed their families and advocates. McEwen described how Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s ultra-nationalist national security minister, taunted them with racist slurs while they were being detained. He went on to call his experience “degrading and humiliating.” This abuse escalated once transferred to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Upon her arrival at Ketziot prison, Lamont painted an equally harrowing scene. She described being brought into a large room with other women, where Ben-Gvir referred to them as “terrorists.” Their rapid descent into hell only got worse when Lamont was deprived of sufficient access to potable water. She explained that the tap water she had access to was polluted, causing her extreme dehydration.
During her first few weeks of treatment, Lamont reported feeling weak, confused, and lethargic, leading her to question her health. “I’m afraid since I can have a stroke at any time,” she said, underscoring the urgency of her situation. DFAT officials were able to visit the Australians detained and see firsthand Lamont’s emotional distress. Then, because of sensory overload, he cried several times during their visit.
As primarily an administrative detention facility, the conditions at Ketziot prison have sparked international condemnation. McEwen explained to DFAT officials how Israeli soldiers tore pages from his microchipped passport in front of him. He condemned this act as humiliating. Lamont detailed the severe physical controls that imprisoned her. She was zip-tied behind her back, sprayed with a water cannon, and left in a non-ventilated environment for seven torturous hours.
Throughout the ordeal, Lamont was not given enough water. A detention center guard even warned her that the tap water supplied to detention centers was not safe to drink, worsening her dehydration and severely high blood pressure. Israeli security forces took her daily medications. After all, once a doctor administered an injection into her system that raised her blood pressure, that was a single dose.
The Australian government has continued to be visible and participatory in the process. At the same time, Jacinta McEwen, Surya’s sister, shared her growing alarm for her brother’s wellbeing during the prolonged detention. “If he’s got a dislocated shoulder and he’s had a head injury and he hasn’t received any medical aid, I’m worried about that,” she declared.
As we await further developments, both McEwen and Lamont are still incarcerated in Ketziot prison, whose main population consists of Palestinian prisoners. It’s a shame that the Australian government has failed to stand up for their rights and well-being, and to demand further information on their conditions.