Autopsy results on the bodies of nine Turks killed in an Israeli raid on an aid ship to Gaza found they were peppered with bullets and many were shot at close range, a British newspaper said Saturday. Citing Yalcin Buyuk, the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine, which carried out the autopsies for the Turkish ministry of justice Friday, The Guardian said the men were shot a total of 30 times. One 60-year-old man was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back, while a US-Turkish citizen was shot five times at close range in the face, the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back, the paper said. Two other men were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, Buyuk said. The Israeli authorities and the activists had conflicting versions of what happened during the deadly pre-dawn raid on the aid ship on Monday. Israel has said the commandos only opened fire after they came under attack with clubs, knives, guns and other weapons. Bulent Yildirim, head of the Islamic charity Foundation of Humanitarian Relief, which spearheaded the Gaza aid fleet, said activists used iron bars in self-defence after Israeli soldiers fired indiscriminately when they stormed the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara. Swedish dockworkers boycott Israeli cargo Swedish dockworkers are set to launch a weeklong boycott of Israeli ships and goods to protest Monday's raid on a Gaza-destined aid flotilla, a union spokesman said Saturday. Peter Annerback, a spokesman for the Swedish Port Workers Union which has around 1,500 members, said workers are urged to refuse handling of Israeli goods and ships during the June 15-24 boycott. “If an Israeli ship would come we would just leave it be and not work on it,” Annerback said of the measures. The union supports the organization “Ship to Gaza,” which took part in the flotilla headed for Gaza. In a statement, the union said the reason for the boycott “is the unprecedented criminal attack on the peaceful ship convoy In Gaza. Several peace activists were killed by Israeli commandos and other participants were detained without any reason.” It also urged other unions and organizations to join them through similar initiatives and called for Israel to be brought to justice for the attack and that it respects international law “and that the blockade of Gaza immediately lifted.” Annerback said it was still unclear how much the boycott is expected to affect trade between the Sweden and Israel since the union still needs to identify cargos with Israeli origin.
