US State Dept.: No comment on jailed former US congresswoman

Ma'an, July 5, 2009
A spokesperson for the US State Department earlier this week dodged questions from a journalist on the fate of a former American lawmaker in Israeli captivity.

On Tuesday former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was among 21 arrested, including Nobel laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, by Israel's navy while in international waters aboard a vessel carrying humanitarian aid en route to the Gaza Strip.

Asked by Erin Conners of Press TV what the US was doing to see the return of its former congresswoman, State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly said, "We can't comment on any of the individuals or the number of individual American citizens on board."

But the Washington, DC spokesperson added, according to the US department's online transcript record dated 1 July, that the US Embassy had been in touch with Israeli authorities and was seeking access to its citizens, and made a point of noting that "we don’t take any position regarding the Free Gaza Movement or any of its messages."

In response to other questions about the fate of those onboard and the ship's medical and construction aid for Gaza, Kelly responded, "I don't know the answer, actually. I think I have to refer you to the government of Israel."

In a statement to Ma'an, spokesperson Greta Berlin for the Free Gaza Movement wrote that "[t]he sheer stupidity of the answer boggles your mind." "Can you imagine what would happen if Iran intercepted a vessel and/or incarcerated a former congressperson and Nobel Prize winner?"

Meanwhile, the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom in recent days have been vocal about the ongoing detainment of their citizens, while a Bahraini delegation on Friday made its first-ever state visit to Israel to retrieve its own five detainees.

Also Friday, Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin called for the swift release of two Irish nationals detained from the ship, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner and a second man identified as Derek Graham.

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