Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Synopsis

NEW! Production Guides analyzing materials received through FOIA include a summary of the case and documents recieved, a guide to the documents relating to Furkan Dogan and a guide to the documents relating to the U.S. flotilla passengers generally.  

Status

• CCR has made numerous statements condemning the blockade and the attack on the humanitarian flotilla. CCR has called for a lifting of the blockade and independent, impartial, thorough and prompt investigations into the attack, including by the ICC, to ensure that those responsible will be held accountable rather than enjoy impunity. CCR will continue to monitor current efforts towards accountability and explore additional avenues for accountability and redress.
• CCR has called on the State Department to insist that property seized by the Israeli government during the attack on the flotilla be returned and demand that all evidence be safeguarded until its return. Moreover, CCR supports and has called for the establishment of an independent, impartial investigation to examine the circumstances of the attack in which one U.S. citizen was killed, one U.S.-flagged vessel was seized, and 16 U.S. passengers were detained. CCR has received no response to its letter, and the US passengers have still not received most of their property more than three months after the attack.
• CCR filed eight Freedom of Information Act requests on June 30, 2010 with various US agencies and departments seeking information about the U.S. knowledge of, and response to, the attack on the flotilla. The requests also sought information about U.S. policy towards the on-going blockade of Gaza. After a lack of adequate response from all government agencies, on May 24, 2011, CCR filed a FOIA lawsuit in the Southern District of New York seeking immediate release of all responsive documents.
• CCR conducted a legal analysis of the blockade of Gaza and the attack on the flotilla, and concluded that both constitute serious violations of international law.

Description

CCR filed eight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the United States government’s knowledge of, and actions in relation to, the May 31, 2010 attack by Israel on a flotilla of six vessels in international waters seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and U.S. policy towards the blockade of Gaza, which has entered its fourth year. The FOIA requests were made to a number of U.S. departments and agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Department of State, the Navy, the U.S. European Command and the U.S. Central Command.

Specifically, the FOIA requests seek information on what, if any, communications were made between the U.S. government and Israel prior to and after the attack; what, if any, information the U.S. shared before or after with Israel about any of the U.S. citizens abroad; what was done to secure the release of detained citizens; and what is being done to return property seized from U.S. citizens and other passengers and to ensure that such property, which includes evidence for any investigations into the attack, is not tampered with or destroyed. As international law requires that a flag-state be notified before its vessels are boarded in international waters, the requests specifically ask about communications between the U.S. and Israel regarding the U.S.-registered Challenger I, which Israel forces boarded, seized, and continue to hold at an Israeli port. A FOIA request was also made regarding communications with other countries and with organizations such as NATO in relation to the attack on the flotilla and the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Finally, a request was made for information about U.S. policy towards Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which has been found to be a form of “collective punishment” by various representatives of the United Nations.  

Nearly eleven months after the FOIA requests were filed, only two agencies had responded, and their responses were wholly inadequate. On May 24, 2011, CCR filed a FOIA lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against eight U.S. departments and agencies seeking immediate release of documents regarding the U.S. government’s knowledge of and role in the deadly May 31, 2010 attack by Israeli commandos on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

 

Links to Actions:    

• CCR Legal Analysis
• CCR Flotilla Factsheet

CCR Statements:

• CCR May 16, 2013 Letter to Obama Re: U.S. Response to the Killing of U.S. Citizen Furkan Doğan by Israeli Defense Forces Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE
• CCR Statement Condemning Israeli attack, 31 May 2010
• NGOs gathered in Kampala for ICC Review Conference Call for End to Impunity, 1 June 2010
• Michael Ratner Op-Ed, U.S. should not condone Israeli attack, 14 June 2010
• CCR Open Letter to State Department Regarding U.S. Stolen Property and Protection of Evidence, 17 June 2010

Letter from U.S. passengers to Secretary of State Clinton

•  Letter from U.S. Passengers to Secretary of State Clinton

Statements from CCR-affiliated organizations:

• Attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla: A First-Person Account by Huwaida Arraf
• FIDH Open Letter expressing deep concern about the composition of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry into the Flotilla, and particularly the appointment of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, Aug. 2, 2010

  For more information on the Free Gaza Movement, see http://www.freegaza.org.

Summary of Documents Produced Pursuant to FOIA Request

Documents Related to Furkan Dogan

• Summary of documents related to Furkan
• See all documents

Timeline