An 18-year-old youth is ventilated in hospital today with extensive burns after taking part in the demonstration in Lisbon that saw scores of people ‘taking over Rossio Metro station’ as part of protests against the detention in Israel of Portuguese citizens who had been part of the Global Sumud Humanitarian Flotilla – stopped in its tracks by Israeli military last Wednesday.
The young man’s condition is described as ‘serious’. His burns are not simply extensive, but ‘third degree’, according to some reports.
Correio da Manhã tabloid says he has already undergone surgeryat Lisbon’s São José Hospital, where he remains.
There has been some confusion over the young man’s age. Some news sources put it at 18, others at 22, but all are agreed that he suffered his injuries by inadvertently grabbing hold of an overhead powerline as he attempted to climb on top of one of the Metro carriages, in Rossio, late afternoon.
The incident happened towards the end of yesterday’s protests, which saw as many as 3,000 people take to the streets, in outrage over not only the detention and treatment of Portugal’s four flotilla participants – Left Bloc MP Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves – but against the Israeli onslaught against the people of Gaza.
With messages coming out of the protest referring to the “enormous worldwide dimensions” of the “movement against the Israeli government”, the reality is that the immediate reason for the protest – the continued detention of the country’s Portuguese citizens – is no longer ‘valid’: all four are due to arrive back in this country later today. Their treatment has, however, been a major bone of contention, and the ministry of foreign affairs has promised to follow the matter up with Israeli counterparts.
The fury of yesterday’s crowd did touch on the Portuguese government. There were chants of “Paulo Rangel, Paulo Rangel, Israel’s puppet” (referring to the minister for foreign affairs), and allusions to the ‘genocide’ of Palestinian people – who are still being bombed by Israel, in spite of the fact that even US President Donald Trump has called on the country to “stop immediately” as efforts for peace are beginning to look promising.
With exception of the tragedy at Rossio, yesterday’s protest was largely peaceful, and the ‘blockade’ of the metro station – which had not apparently been planned – lasted less than an hour.
According to reports, however, organisers are planning a new demonstration. An entry on Facebook puts it as scheduled for Sunday October 19, again in the centre of Lisbon.
Bad treatment
The treatment to which Portugal’s detainees have been subjected will no doubt be outlined in great detail when they return. It appears they were deprived of food and water for 48-hours, and there has been video evidence to suggest they were subjected to an abusive harangue by a member of the Israeli government when they arrived at the detention centre on Thursday.
There have even been reports of Greta Thunberg – one of the most high-profile members of the thwarted flotilla – being ‘dragged across the floor by her hair’. Again, the truth of these allegations will come clearer over coming days.
Source material: LUSA/ Observador/ Correio da Manhã/ Times of Israel/ Youtube
