Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-06-02

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] First Greeks return

[02] ASE opening: Small rise

[01] First Greeks return

Thirty-one more Greeks from the six-ship flotilla, including two ships from Greece, are currently being held at Be'er Sheva prison in Israel, together with more than 600 other activists from the flotilla.

The six Greeks, who arrived at Athens International Airport on Tuesday morning after being deported by Israel, reported beatings and extensive use of rubber bullets by Israeli commandos during the raid and seizure of the ships, as well as torture, use of electroshock weapons and prohibition of any communication for the duration of their detention.

They also said that when the commandos boarded the ships they fiercely beat anyone who tried to resist them, while the also took away from the doctors any pharmaceuticals they had with them and did not allow the detainees to move until the ships reached the port of Ashdod.

One returnee said that if anyone tried to stand up, the commandos pounced on him. "We had to raise our hands, like children in school, to be allowed to go to the toilet", he said, adding that all their personal effects, cell phones, laptops and even clothing were confiscated

Speaking at the press conference, four of the returnees said that the attack on the two Greek ships, the "Sfendoni" and the "Eleftheri Messogios" (Free Mediterranean), took place at 5:00 a.m. Monday, just after the Israeli commandos' initial invasion of the Turkish vessel "Mavi Marmara".

A Palestinian who, although was not on the flotilla, had overseen the loading of the humanitarian supplies on the ships, said that all items had passed through strict checks before being loaded, stressing that there had been no violations of regulations nor any illegal items loaded.

[02] ASE opening: Small rise

Individual sector indices were moving mostly upward, with the biggest gains in Chemicals, up 2.62 percent; and Media, up 1.85 percent.

The biggest losses were in Public Utilities, down 0.77 percent; and Telecoms, down 0.45 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was up 0.12 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was up 0.71 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 1.05 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 44 were up, 24 were down, and 23 were unchanged.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article