The wife of a Gwynedd man who was said last week to have been illegally detained by Israeli forces, says husband that her Chris was held for over 30 hours and beaten.

Chris Hill from Clwt y Bont near Caernarfon is in Turkey now, but last week Israeli forces intercepted Eros 1, a vessel belonging to the Sumud flotilla which was delivering humanitarian aid to Palestine.

Chris was engaged in peaceful humanitarian work and a lack of clear information about his whereabouts last Friday distressed his family, friends and community in Gwynedd.

“Israeli forces illegally detained people from the flotilla,” MP Liz Saville Roberts said then.

“They must be released immediately.”

On Tuesday, 5 May, the MP spoke to Chris’ wife Bronwen who said: “Chris is currently in Turkey hoping to rejoin the flotilla.

“He has described his experiences including the initial boarding of the civilian vessel he was sailing in - in international waters - followed by their forced abduction at gunpoint.

“They were then taken to an Israeli military vessel which was adapted as a floating prison and kept against their will for more than 30 hours.

“During this time, he and many others were beaten and sustained various injuries including broken bones, extensive bruising, and cuts. Once they were released, they were dumped on a Cretan beach and were eventually taken to an airport in Crete. Once there, they were met by representatives of the UK consulate, who said, ‘You have your passport, no one is going to arrest you so off you go’. All Chris had on him were the clothes he was in and no money. The rest of his belongings are still on the vessel he was on, lost for ever.

“Luckily for him the Turkish government came to his rescue.”