AUCKLAND (Māori Television/Pacific Media Watch): A Māori Television crew will be flown back from Israel after their Swedish-flagged aid ship, Marianne of Gothenburg, was detained by the Israeli Navy while attempting to break the Gaza blockade.
Native Affairs senior reporter Ruwani Perera and cameraman Jacob Bryant, were invited to join the Freedom Flotilla III as observers to document their mission by New Zealand organisation Kia Ora Gaza.
Head of news and current affairs Maramena Roderick said Perera and Bryant were both safe and well and were expected to arrive back in New Zealand tomorrow.
She said Māori Television staff were working with authorities at the New Zealand embassy in Ankara, Turkey to support the crew.
“Foreign Affairs says their embassy staff in Ankara had informed them that both Ruwani and Jacob have been treated well and with respect by local authorities," she said.
“We appreciate the assistance of embassy officials to bring our crew home. The contingencies plans we had all worked so carefully on are now falling into place.”
Roderick said the safety of the crew was and would always remain a priority for the network.
Committed to safety
“Our team is committed to their safe return home.”
Israeli authorities seized Perera’s phone which will be turned over to New Zealand authorities in three days.
About 20 people were on the ship intercepted by Israeli authorities.
The Marianne was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition which was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Perera, a 12-year veteran journalist, and Bryant boarded the flotilla in Sicily, Italy, about 10 days ago, the network said.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Pacific Media Watch
