A/HRC/15/21 convicted and had served a term of imprisonment for his involvement in the 1996 hijacking of a Russian ferry boat. The hijackers were demanding the release of Chechen prisoners at the time.65 87. Participants raised money within their communities for the trip and also solicited cash donations which would be given directly to the population of Gaza. 88. There was stringent security surrounding the Mavi Mamara in the port of Antalya and all items taken on board were checked. Passengers and their luggage were subjected to security checks similar to those found in airports before boarding, including body searches The passengers who were transferred from the Challenger 1 onto the Mavi Marmara on the ocean were subjected to the same security checks. 89. Similar meticulous security checks were carried out on passengers onboard the Eleftheri Mesogios at the port in Greece. The Sfendoni was primarily carrying passengers but also had on board a few medical items, including an ultra-sound machine, which had been donated. The boat’s captain personally checked the machine and the boat to confirm that there were no weapons or similar items on board. Witnesses also said that the cargo on board the Rachel Corrie was checked by three independent authorities and sealed before it left Ireland. The seals remained intact when the ship was boarded by the Israelis. 90. Testimony did not show a clear logistical plan as to how the large amounts of humanitarian aid being carried by the cargo ships in the flotilla would be unloaded in Gaza given the limited port facilities in Gaza. One witness said that he understood that IHH workers already in Gaza were preparing cranes to off-load the cargo into smaller boats. Another witness confirmed this plan and said that the Eleftheri Mesogios itself had a crane. (d) Planned course and destination of the flotilla 91. The vessels participating in the flotilla to Gaza departed from different ports at different dates, as shown below and made for an agreed rendezvous point in international waters, approximately 40 nautical miles south of Cyprus. The following vessels proceeded to the rendezvous as follows: • 14 May 2010, Gazze 1 departs from Istanbul to Iskenderun • 18 May, Rachel Corrie departs Greenore Port, Ireland, bound for Malta. It had initially left Dundalk on 14 May but stopped for repairs. • 22 May, Mavi Marmara departs from Istanbul to Antalya, Turkey • 22 May, Gazze 1 departs Iskenderun towards Gaza • 24 May, Defne Y departs from Istanbul • 24 May, Elftheri Mesogios departs Piraeus, Greece • 25 May, Mavi Marmara arrives in Antalya, Turkey • 25 May, Sfendoni departs Piraeus, Greece (then makes an intermediary stop in Rhodes). • 28 May, Mavi Marmara departs Antalya, Turkey. • 29 May, Challenger 1 and Challenger 2 depart from Crete; the Rachel Corrie arrives in Malta. 65 Report from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Israel, 26 August 2010. See http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/ipc_e119.pdf 21