Laura Kwoczała, 24, was one of 10 people from seven countries detained on May 24 by forces loyal to self-declared authorities in eastern Libya, led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, at the boundary with the country's western region. Convoy organizers had earlier said the detentions occurred May 17. Kwoczała and the other activists were released on June 24.
"It was a kidnapping. I never learned the reason for my detention, I had no rights, I didn't know what would happen to me", Kwoczała told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The Global Sumud Land Convoy set out from Mauritania on April 25, traveling across North Africa with humanitarian aid for Gaza. Kwoczała said volunteers from outside Africa joined in Libya, were trained in Tripoli, and had visas and a contact meant to secure their passage through eastern Libya.
Kwoczała was among 10 people negotiating passage through a buffer zone between western and eastern Libya. Two Red Crescent workers there gave them a contact to arrange logistics and assured them aid would reach Gaza, but contact later broke off, and the group was twice ordered to turn back. On a third attempt, aid trucks accompanied the activists to the checkpoint, hoping to hand over the humanitarian supplies.
Paramilitary forces then blocked the convoy and pulled its members from their vehicles, packing men into a vehicle "like cattle" and women into a van, Kwoczała said.
The detainees were taken to Sirte and held in a warehouse under constant camera surveillance, where blood samples were drawn despite their objections. Guards falsely claimed it was a visa procedure and for their safety, Kwoczała said, adding, "we knew it was a sign we'd be held longer". They initially slept on artificial turf, later on mattresses, without access to their luggage, clothing or showers.
On the third day, detainees were told they would fly to Tripoli and be freed, and an eastern Libyan official apologized for the situation at the airport. Instead, the plane flew to Benghazi. "It was a shock. On the way from the airport I saw we were passing guard towers. It was some kind of informal, unmarked detention center. We were terrified", Kwoczała said.
Conditions in Benghazi were worse. Kwoczała was placed in isolation over her "behavior in Sirte", then joined by an American detainee in a cell she described as having no room to stretch her legs, just a broken lightbulb, a toilet and a thin mattress on a concrete floor.
Detainees were later taken to a courthouse, but the hearing did not proceed, reportedly for lack of translated documents. "We went back to our detention center still not knowing the basis for our detention or what would happen next", Kwoczała said, adding she suspected the internationally unrecognized eastern Libyan authorities wanted to exploit the situation politically.
She had a supervised visit with the Spanish consul in Libya and, toward the end of her second week in detention, with Polish consul in Tunis Maciej Kowalski. "Those meetings brought great relief and certainty that our countries knew about the situation and were acting", she said.
On June 21, she underwent an appendix operation at a local hospital, which she said was conducted under good conditions, though two guards watched her throughout and she could not speak with staff.
Three days later, guards told the detainees they would be released. The group flew from Benghazi to Istanbul. "Only there did the great relief and joy come", Kwoczała said, adding she later learned her surgery likely helped speed up the group's release.
"Yes, I was kidnapped. I never learned the basis for my detention, not then and not later. I had none of the rights owed to detainees. I feared for my life. I didn't know what was happening or what would happen to me", she said, adding that overall she feels well given the ordeal.
Kwoczała returned to Poland on Saturday, June 27. The Global Sumud Land Convoy aimed to draw attention to protests against Israel's blockade of Gaza and open a route for humanitarian aid to the territory's population.
Libya has been divided since the 2011 fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, with a government in Tripoli controlling the west and Haftar's Libyan National Army controlling the east; eastern Libyan institutions are not internationally recognized. Poland's Foreign Ministry advises against all travel to Libya and says Polish citizens there should leave immediately.
(jh)
Source: PAP