On reading your article on David Heap (“The man who won’t go away,” Nov. 24), I see you quote the Israeli military as saying David was not tasered. I would like to point you to an eyewitness. Google Amy Goodman and Jihan Hafiz, a journalist for Democracy Now who was on the Tahrir, you will get the full interview. For your convenience, I give a portion of the interview below:
JIHAN HAFIZ: At this point, they attempt to separate us. They put the men on one side and the women on the other side. As they’re boarding, they taser David Heap, who was in the captain’s room trying to get to the back of the boat.
AMY GOODMAN: He was one of the Canadian activists.
JIHAN HAFIZ: He was one of the Canadian activists, and he was tasered on the arm.
AMY GOODMAN: You saw this?
JIHAN HAFIZ: I did, yes, in the captain’s — captain’s quarters. He was there with George, who was our captain. He’s a Greek activist. And they moved—they tried to force them out to the side, to the back of the boat where we were. They weren’t resisting. They were moving slowly, but not resisting. And I guess it wasn’t fast enough for them.
Irene MacInnes
Vancouver