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Original article: “Me violaron durante un registro”: periodista de la Flotilla rompe el silencio y denuncia agresión sexual de fuerzas israelíes

In a heartbreaking testimony that has shocked the international community, 25-year-old German journalist Anna Liedtke has come forward to allege that she was raped by Israeli forces during her five-day detention after the interception of the humanitarian ship «Conscience» from the Freedom Flotilla, which was heading to Gaza in October 2025, approximately 100 nautical miles off the coast of the Palestinian enclave.

Liedtke recounted how activists were moved to different prisons, and it was during these body searches that she suffered the abuse.

«We were transferred from one prison to another, and during the body searches, I was raped,» Liedtke stated in her first public testimony.

The journalist described the assault as part of «a broader systemic abuse, not an isolated incident.»

Liedtke explained that her decision to speak out stemmed from her desire to bring visibility to the cases of all Palestinian victims of sexual assault by Israeli forces.

«I decided to do this on behalf of other women who have suffered sexual violence and torture in prisons,» including those who «are still incarcerated,» she said.

«We were transferred by Israel from one prison to another, I was stripped naked and raped by Zionist soldiers; I denounce this for all the women who suffered violence and sexual torture in Israeli prisons. They did not break me,» she emphasized.

In a direct message to Israeli authorities, she claimed that «the Zionist states, their prisons, and their guards should be ashamed.»

Moreover, she clarified that the rape was part of a wide-ranging and systematic pattern of abuses, rather than an isolated incident.

The young journalist connected her personal experience with previous testimonies from victims of sexual assaults by Israeli forces in prisons.

«On several occasions, we heard Palestinian prisoners, especially women, speak about the situation in Zionist prisons,» she noted.

Freedom Flotilla Detention and Systematic Abuse Pattern

The Freedom Flotilla, composed of activist ships, sought to break the blockade on Gaza imposed by Israel when it was intercepted by Israeli military forces. All activists on board were detained, though most were released and deported days later. Liedtke remained in Israeli custody for five days before being deported to Germany.

Liedtke’s testimony is not an isolated case, according to documentation from human rights organizations.

In August 2024, the Israeli organization B’Tselem published a report titled «Welcome to Hell,» detailing physical, psychological, and sexual abuses inflicted on Palestinians detained by Israel. The report described the Israeli prison system as a «network of torture camps» where the «repeated use of sexual violence» is prevalent, including «collective sexual violence and assaults committed by groups of prison guards or soldiers.»

The United Nations has also commented on these abuses. In early 2025, an investigation by the organization accused Israel of using sexual torture and rape as «a method of war… to destabilize, dominate, oppress, and destroy the Palestinian people.»

According to Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups, over 90 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons since the onset of what they describe as «Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza in October 2023.»

These organizations warn that the actual number could be «much higher» and that all deaths would have resulted from «torture, assaults, deliberate medical negligence, or malnutrition.»

Audio-Visual Evidence and Reactions

Last year, Israel’s Channel 12 aired leaked footage that appeared to show Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee, sparking controversy within the country though there have been no significant judicial consequences to date.

Liedtke’s allegations have raised questions about the media coverage of these events in Western media. Activists ask: «In how many Western media outlets have you seen this statement denouncing this brutal crime of ‘Israel’? Where did that so-called ‘progressiveness’ go, which the West prides itself on, that claims to fight for women’s rights (only when it suits them)?»

Liedtke’s bravery in breaking the silence once again highlights the situation of detainees under Israeli custody and raises uncomfortable questions about the international community’s responsibility to ensure respect for human rights amid conflicts.

La entrada German Journalist Anna Liedtke Breaks Silence on Sexual Assault by Israeli Forces se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.