Spokesperson says Swedish writer safe and unhurt as German politician gives first-hand account of Mavi Marmara raid
Kate Connolly in Berlin , guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 June 2010
The Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell is reported to be among hundreds of activists being held in Israeli custody following the storming of the Gaza aid flotilla, according to a spokesman for the foreign ministry in Stockholm.
The spokesman, Anders Joerle, said that Mankell was still considering whether he should be deported, which would mean being put on a plane at Ben Gurion airport and flown back to Stockholm, or face trial in Israel.
"I believe that Henning Mankell is now being held in custody," said Joerle.
A spokesman for Mankell, whose novels about the police commissar Kurt Wallander have sold over 25m copies worldwide, said he could not confirm the reports but had received news that – contrary to initial accounts that the writer had been injured – the Swede was safe and unhurt.
"A lot of people are saying a lot of things, which are second and third hand," said Robert Johnson. "All I can say is, although I haven't heard directly from Henning himself, I can confirm he is safe and he hasn't been hurt."
Mankell is one of around 10 Swedish activists who were on board the Swedish ship, the Sofia. One of them is believed to have been injured, though not seriously, according to the foreign ministry.
Gull Guardian report here.
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