Seoul, May 25 (IANS) The foreign ministry os South Korea on Monday said it has pressed Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into claims by two South Korean activists that they were assaulted by Israeli forces after being detained aboard aid vessels bound for the Gaza Strip.
The ministry said it called in the deputy Israeli ambassador to South Korea to its office on Saturday and conveyed its concerns over those allegations, Yonhap news agency reported.
The two activists, Kim Ah-hyun and Kim Dong-hyeon, returned home Friday following their release. Upon arrival, they both said they had been assaulted by Israeli forces, with Kim Ah-hyun claiming that she had lost some hearing in her left ear because she had been struck on that side of the face several times.
The ministry said it demanded a thorough investigation into the matter and stressed that appropriate measures must be taken if inhumane acts by Israeli forces are found to be true.
“The government expressed strong concerns over Israel’s detention of two South Korean nationals,” a ministry official said. “We take seriously the testimonies by our nationals that there had been physical assaults by Israeli forces during their seizure of the vessels and detention of our people. We will respond to this situation with principle and responsibility and continue our diplomatic communication with relevant countries.”
Last week, the Lina Al Nabulsi, carrying South Korean activist Kim Ah-hyun and Korean American activist Jonathan Victor Lee, was intercepted by the Israeli military in waters near the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces also seized another aid boat, the Kyriakos X, in the same week, which was carrying South Korean activist Kim Dong-hyeon, among other activists from around the world.
“The Israeli side immediately deported the two South Korean nationals without placing them in a detention centre,” Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said while announcing the release of two activists at a press briefing.
–IANS
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