Canadian activist says he was Tasered by Israeli forces

By Wendy Gillis Staff Reporter


Canadian activist says he was Tasered by Israeli forces

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1082227--canadian-activist-says-he-was-tasered-by-israeli-forces

Wendy Gillis Staff Reporter

The family of David Heap is “outraged” after the London, Ont. man claimed Sunday he was Tasered and roughed up by Israeli forces that had seized a vessel bound for Gaza.

The 45-year-old was aboard the Tahrir, a Canadian owned vessel, when it was seized along with an Irish ship as both attempted to carry medical aid to Gaza.

Israeli officials said the ships were intercepted peacefully — but Heap said in a statement released by the group “Canadian Boat to Gaza” that he was brutally taken off the ship.

Calling the seizure an “assault,” Heap said he is now bruised and limping after being forcibly removed from the boat, but is “basically ok.”

Danny Heap said the family is outraged, adding his brother’s teenaged sons were “scared and worried.”

“It seems that, since all the people on the Tahrir had sworn to be non-violent, that the Israeli army was just brutal,” he said. “It’s pretty shocking … when what was on the boat turned out to be medical aid for Gaza.”

Israeli officials were not immediately available to respond to Heap's claims. Officials from the country have said the navy took action only after repeatedly ordering the vessels to turn around.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird issued a statement Saturday that Canadian diplomats were “liaising with Israeli authorities” to provide consular assistance. There was no reaction from Canadian officials to Heap’s claims of being roughed up by press time Sunday night.

Heap, two other Canadians, and about 20 other activists were arrested by Israel, which has indicated it intends to deport them this week. Danny Heap said his brother will demand he be deported to Gaza.

Heap’s partner spoke with him briefly Sunday morning. Heap told her he has received a visit from a lawyer and from a Canadian consulate official but he is not allowed to speak with others who were arrested Friday.

David and Danny Heap are both sons of Dan Heap, a renowned Toronto activist and retired politician who has been in the news recently as he and his wife struggled to find a spot in a long-term care home.

Shortly before David was born, the senior Heap was protesting discrimination against blacks in Selma, Alabama, alongside Martin Luther King — something Danny said had inspired David.

“He feels like he’s doing the same thing, many years later.”

One of the other Canadians detained, Montrealer Ehab Lotayef, was imprisoned with Heap, his statement suggested. The third Canadian, Karen DeVito, was apparently held separately.

With files from The Canadian Press