A/HRC/15/21 forced to urinate on themselves. The Israeli forces also employed dogs and some passengers received dog-bite wounds. Some witnesses who suffer from chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart conditions, were not provided access to their required medicines, which were taken by Israeli soldiers. 135. The manner in which plastic handcuffs were attached to the wrists of passengers caused severe pain and discomfort. There was widespread misuse of the handcuffs by the Israeli soldiers who tightened the plastic handcuffs to an extent that caused pain, swelling, a loss of blood circulation in the hands and the loss of sensitivity in their hands and fingers. Most passengers who requested that the handcuffs be loosened were ignored or it resulted in the handcuffs being further tightened. A number of passengers are still experiencing medical problems related to the handcuffing three months later and forensic reports confirm that at least 54 passengers had received injuries, transversal abrasions and bruises, as a result of handcuffing on board the Mavi Mamara. (c) Events aboard the Challenger 1 136. Passengers and crew on the Challenger 1, the smallest and fastest vessel in the flotilla, were able to witness the first moments of the assault on the Mavi Marmara. Once it became apparent that the Israelis intended to commandeer the ships, the decision was made for the Challenger 1 to accelerate out of the formation of the flotilla to allow more time for the journalists aboard to transmit news of the assault to the outside world via the boat’s satellite Internet connection, which remained in operation, but also in the hope that at least one boat might still be able to reach Gaza. The boat was chased by one of the Israeli corvette boats which it was unable to outrun. Eventually the starboard engine lost oil pressure and the captain, concerned the Israelis might ram the boat, shut down the engines. 137. The boat was intercepted by two Israeli boats and a helicopter. Passengers on the board said that at least one stun grenade was launched at the boat by the Israelis before they attempted to board. Passengers on the decks had decided in advance to employ passive resistance techniques to resist symbolically the Israeli soldiers boarding the boat. The passengers stood unarmed side-by-side blocking the path of the soldiers. Soldiers opened fire with paintballs and rubber bullets as they boarded, hitting and injuring one woman in the face with either a plastic bullet or a paintball. Another woman was bruised on her back by from rubber bullets. 138. Once on board, the soldiers moved to take control of the fly bridge. Passengers obstructing access were forcibly removed. On entering the fly bridge, the soldiers were met with no resistance, but a female journalist sustained burns on her arms from an electroshock weapon fired by an Israeli soldier. Witnesses said that the primary concern of the soldiers seemed to be the confiscation of photographic equipment and media. 139. The passive resistance offered by the passengers was met with force. One woman’s head was hit against the deck of the boat and then stepped on by an Israeli soldier. Passengers were handcuffed very tightly with plastic ties behind their backs, while the woman injured in the face was left unattended. 140. Several passengers said that it was clear that the Israeli soldiers knew who was on board as they referred to some passengers by name. A plasticized booklet recovered from a soldier on the Mavi Marmara, and filmed, identified specific passengers on several boats with names and photographs, including on the Challenger 1. 141. One crew member observed that the soldiers were very young, seemed frightened and that were initially poorly organized. Soldiers behaved aggressively from the outset towards the passengers. Passengers were handcuffed with plastic ties and denied access to the toilet. One elderly man was obliged to urinate in his clothes because he was refused access to the toilet. There was an attempt to forcibly eject one woman from the boat into 32