TURKEY: Pro-Palestinian Turks due to return home, after Israel expels all activists seized during raid on aid convoy sailing to Gaza

Record ID: 784094

  • Title: TURKEY: Pro-Palestinian Turks due to return home, after Israel expels all activists seized during raid on aid convoy sailing to Gaza
  • Date: 3rd June 2010
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JUNE 02, 2010) (REUTERS) AIRPLANES ON TARMAC CLOSE OF AIRPLANE TAKING OFF PLANES TAXIING ON TARMAC VARIOUS OF PLANES OF TURKISH AIRLINES TAXIING ON TARMAC PLANE TAKING OFF DEPORTED ACTIVISTS AND CREW MEMBERS YALCIN SAHEL AND YASAR CILGIN OF GAZA-1 VESSEL WALKING INSIDE AIRPORT ACTIVISTS WALKING CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) PRO PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST YALCIN SAHEL SAYING: "Mavi Marmara was sailing ahead of us. We have witnessed the whole operation. All those zodiac boats and soldiers were approaching us, were not normal. It was not a normal operation. It was barbaric ACTIVISTS LEAVING AIRPORT
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA28TTLG3ZK4Z3B5D3HRR8ITYVF
  • Story Text: Turkey has sent three planes to Israel on Wednesday (June 2) to bring back deported activists as two more crew members of the vessels carrying aid to Gaza returned home.
    Israel, facing mounting international outrage at its raid on an aid convoy sailing to Gaza, said on Tuesday (June 1) that it would expel all activists seized on the ships and dropped threats to prosecute some of them.
    682 activists will be deported from over 35 countries, seized during the assault in which nine activists were killed on a Turkish vessel.
    Meanwhile, two more crew members of the Turkish flagged Gaza-1 vessel which was a part of an international flotilla carrying aid to the Gaza Strip returned to Istanbul on Wednesday morning.
    "Mavi Marmara was sailing ahead of us. We have witnessed the whole operation. All those zodiac boats and soldiers were approaching us, were not normal. It was not a normal operation. It was barbaric," crew member and activist, Yalcin Sahel said.
    The activists detained when Israeli marines halted the six-ship convoy heading for the blockaded Palestinian enclave included Turks, Arabs, Americans, Asians and Europeans, among them two politicians and Swedish author Henning Mankell.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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