JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Six South African activists who were detained by Israel while attempting to reach Gaza as part of an aid flotilla said Wednesday they were subjected to harsher treatment than other detainees because of South Africa's role in a genocide case against Israel.
Speaking after their return, the activists, which include a grandson of Nelson Mandela, said they were singled out after Israeli guards noticed that they were from South Africa. Two Muslim women among the group said they had their hijabs ripped off their heads and were forced to strip naked in front of Israeli soldiers.
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Activists prepare to welcome of members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mandla Mandela with his wife Rabia, arrives with members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mandla Mandela speaks to journalists after their arrival with members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Activists sing as they welcome the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mandla Mandela, showing victory sign and his fellow members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Since 2023, South Africa has led a highly contentious case in the United Nations' top court accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Mandla Mandela, grandson of South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon and first Black president, said the South African activists on the flotilla were “harshly dealt with” because their country has confronted Israel over its actions in Gaza by launching the case at the International Court of Justice.
Their treatment was “because we are a nation that dared through our government to take apartheid Israel to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court and hold them accountable,” Mandela said.
South African activists Fatima Hendricks and Zaheera Soomar told reporters at Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport on their return that their hijabs were forcibly removed from their heads while they were detained by Israel, which didn't happen to other Muslim female activists.
“Both of us were forced behind a screen, our heads pushed against the wall and completely stripped naked in front of Israeli soldiers. This did not happen to other women,” said Soomar. “When they saw our passports, this is how we were treated as South Africans.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has denied any claims of mistreatment and noted that all activists were given the opportunity to voluntarily be deported without detention. It said Wednesday in response to the allegations by the South African activists that “all the legal rights of the participants in this PR stunt were and will continue to be fully upheld. The lies they are spreading are part of their pre-planned fake news campaign."
The six South Africans were among some 450 activists who were arrested as Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of 42 boats seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Palestinians in the famine-stricken territory. They were detained last week and brought to Israel.
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was among the activists arrested. Thunberg and activists from other countries have also claimed they were mistreated by Israeli guards, claims Israel has rejected as “brazen lies.”
The Israeli military intercepted another flotilla early Wednesday and detained scores more activists on board.
Mandla Mandela has previously been criticized over his alleged support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas and was denied a visa to travel to the U.K. last year.
South Africa has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause dating back to when Nelson Mandela was president. The country has compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians to the South African apartheid government's treatment of Black South Africans during its previous period of racial segregation. Israel has rejected that comparison.
South Africa lodged its case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza in late 2023. Several countries, including Nicaragua, Palestine, Turkey, Spain, Mexico, Libya and Colombia have supported South Africa's case, it said.
Israel has vehemently rejected the allegation it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and has accused South Africa of being Hamas' "legal arm" by filing the case.
Activists prepare to welcome of members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mandla Mandela with his wife Rabia, arrives with members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mandla Mandela speaks to journalists after their arrival with members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Activists sing as they welcome the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Mandla Mandela, showing victory sign and his fellow members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, at OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
HONG KONG (AP) — About a third of Hong Kong 's registered voters elected a new 90-member legislature Sunday, a turnout that avoided an embarrassment for the government but fell short of a ringing endorsement of an electoral system revamp that eliminated the once feisty opposition in the Chinese territory.
The turnout rate reached 31.9%, surpassing the 30.2% in the 2021 election, the first held under the new system. It was much lower than before the electoral changes, when turnout topped 50%.
Many of the city’s 4.1 million eligible voters, especially democracy supporters, have turned away from politics since a crackdown that has stifled dissent. Candidates must now go through a vetting process that ensures they are patriots who are loyal to the Chinese government. The government says the changes were needed to bring stability after massive anti-government protests in 2019.
The government launched a major campaign to drive up turnout, adding polling stations, extending voting hours and holding candidate forums. But public anger over government accountability in an apartment fire that killed at least 159 people late last month threatened to keep some potential voters at home.
In the end, enough came out to nudge up the turnout rate from 2021, the lowest since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Ahead of the vote, Chinese authorities called foreign media to a rare meeting to warn them that they need to comply with the city's national security laws.
Election campaigning was suspended after the fire and remained subdued in the final days out of respect for the victims.
Government efforts to drive up turnout, seen as a referendum on the new electoral system, had been in full swing before the blaze. Promotional banners and posters were hung throughout the city and subsidies offered to centers for older people and people with disabilities to help them vote.
Authorities arrested people who allegedly posted content that incited others not to vote or cast invalid votes.
Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades has raised questions over government oversight and suspected bid-rigging in building maintenance projects. The 1980s-era apartment complex was undergoing renovations.
Some candidates pledged to combat bid-rigging.
City leader John Lee said in a statement on Monday that holding a smooth election during a difficult period for Hong Kong “carries profound significance," saying he expected the lawmakers would work with the government to drive systemic reforms following the fire.
Even before the 2021 electoral changes, only half of what had been a 70-member legislature was chosen by the general electorate.
Now, that has been reduced to 20 out of 90 seats and 40 others are chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee. The remaining 30 represent various groups — mainly major industries such as finance, health care and real estate — and are elected by their members.
The “patriots” requirement for all candidates has pushed out the opposition parties, which advocated for making the system more democratic.
“I’m performing my civic duty as a citizen to vote … but I’m not too certain which candidate is hardworking and which is not,” retiree Kwan Lam said outside a polling station. “I chose the one who cares for the elderly.”
Olympic fencing champion Vivian Kong on Monday won in the tourism sector, despite lacking industry experience.
The candidate pool seems to reflect Beijing's desire to have more lawmakers who are more in tune with its agenda, some observers said, in what they see as signs of Beijing’s tightening control even over its loyalists.
Lee has said that personnel changes are normal during an election. He criticized attempts to “distort” these changes to smear the new election system.
Ho-fung Hung, professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University, said voter turnout was far lower than the 2016 election despite the vast resources the government had mobilized to boost turnout. The actual number of people who voted was also down from 2016 due to a shrinking electorate, he said.
The fire also contributed to the low turnout, Hung said.
“But it may work toward the government’s advantage, as they can blame the tragedy for the poor performance, or even say that the not-so-drastic drop in voting number despite the fire is an achievement,” he said.
John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, said the election shows that the city remains polarized with pro-establishment and opposition camps.
“The fire ... played a role because it exposed various governance problems that no resident could be happy about," he said.
But Electoral Affairs Commission chairperson David Lok found it encouraging that 1.3 million people voted, saying the current atmosphere made holding the election difficult as many were affected by the blaze.
Beijing's office on Hong Kong affairs hailed the increase in turnout rate in a WeChat statement, saying it reflected Hong Kong society's support for the poll.
Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong summoned representatives of several foreign news outlets, including The Associated Press, on Saturday.
Some foreign media had spread false information and smeared the government's disaster relief efforts after the fire, as well as attacked and interfered with the legislative elections, the Office for Safeguarding National Security said in a statement.
“No media outlet may use ‘freedom of the press’ as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or Hong Kong affairs,” the statement said.
Authorities have warned the general public against using the fire to try to undermine the government and have arrested at least one person on suspicion of inciting hatred against government officials.
Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Gary Chan, candidates of the Legislative Council Election, center, campaigns on the street during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Gary Chan, candidates of the Legislative Council Election, center, campaigns on the street during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
People walk past a polling station near the site of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee casts his ballot at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
People read the candidates information at a polling station near the site of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee, poses for photos at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee speaks to the media at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee casts his ballot at a polling station during the Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
People look at a candidate brochure of the Hong Kong Legislative Council General Election at a forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Pedestrians walk past the banner promoting the Hong Kong Legislative Council General Election in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
