[THS] Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range

[The Harder Stuff in news and commentary]

Gaza flotilla activists were shot in head at close range
Exclusive: Nine Turkish men on board Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times,
autopsy results reveal

Robert Booth

guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 June 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ju ... sy-results

Israel was tonight under pressure to allow an independent inquiry into its assault on
the Gaza aid flotilla after autopsy results on the bodies of those killed, obtained by the
Guardian, revealed they were peppered with 9mm bullets, m any fired at close
range.

Nine Turkish men on board the Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times and five
were killed by gunshot wounds to the head, according to the vice-chairman of the
Turkish council of forensic medicine, which carried out the autopsies for the Turkish
ministry of justice today.

The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in
the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also
has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face, in the back of
the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men were shot four
times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back,
said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of forensic medicine.

The findings emerged as more survivors gave their accounts of the raids. Ismail
Patel, the chairman of Leicester-based pro-Palestinian group Friends of al-Aqsa, who
returned to Britain today, told how he witnessed some of the fatal shootings and
claimed that Israel had operated a "shoot to kill policy".

He calculated that during the bloodiest part of the assault, Israeli commandos shot
one person every minute. One man was fatally shot in the back of the head just two
feet in front him and another was shot once between the eyes. He added that as well
as the fatally wounded, 48 others were suffering from gunshot wounds and six
activists remained missing, suggesting the death toll may increase.

The new information about the manner and intensity of the killings undermines
Israel's insistence that its soldiers opened fire only in self defence and in response to
attacks by the activists.

"Given the very disturbing evidence which contradicts the line from the Israeli media
and suggests that Israelis have been very selective in the way they have addressed
this, there is now an overwhelming need for an international inquiry," said Andre w
Slaughter MP, a member of the all party group on Britain and Palestine.

Israel said tonight the number of bullets found in the bodies did not alter the fact
that the soldiers were acting in self defence. "The only situation when a soldier shot
was when it was a clearly a life-threatening situation," said a spokesman for the
Israeli embassy in London. "Pulling the trigger quickly can result in a few bullets
being in the same body, but does not change the fact they were in a life-threatening
situation."

Protesters from across the country will tomorrow march from Downing Street to the
Israeli embassy to call for Israel to be held to account for its actions.

Earlier this week, William Hague, the foreign secretary, said the government would
call for an inquiry under international auspices if Israel refuses to establish an
independent inquiry, including an international presence.

The autopsy results were released as the last of the Turkish victims was buried.

Dr Haluk Ince, the chairman of the council of forensic medicine in Istanbul, said that
in only one case was there a single bullet wound, to the forehead from a distant shot,
while every other victim suffered multiple wounds. "All [the bullets] were intact. This
is important in a forensic context. When a bullet strikes another place it comes into
the body deformed. If it directly comes into the body, the bullet is all intact."

He added that all but one of the bullets retrieved from the bodies came from 9mm
rounds. Of the other round, he said: "It was the first time we have seen this kind of
material used in firearms. It was just a container including many types of pellets
usually used in shotguns. It penetrated the head region in the temple and we found
it intact in the brain."

Tonight the Rachel Corrie, an Irish vessel crewed by supporters of the Free Gaza
movement, remained on course for Gaza. Yossi Gal, director general at the Israeli
foreign ministry, said Israel had "no desire for a confrontation" but asked for the ship
to dock at Ashdod, not Gaza.

"If the ship decides to sail the port of Ashdod, then we will ensure its safe arrival and
will not board it," he said.