An Australian witness to the killing of Turkish-U.S. activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi by the Israeli military in the West Bank last month arrived in Türkiye on Tuesday to testify in the ongoing investigation Turkish authorities are conducting.
Helen Maria O’Sullivan witnessed the last moments of Eygi when an Israeli sniper shot her dead on Sept. 6 during a peaceful protest against illegal Israel settlements near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
A preliminary investigation by the Israeli army found that Eygi was "highly likely" hit "indirectly and unintentionally" by Israeli fire targeting a main investigator during the protest.
However, video evidence and eyewitness accounts have contradicted Israel's version of events. A recent report by The Washington Post revealed that Eygi was shot more than 30 minutes after the peak of confrontations in Beita and about 20 minutes after protesters had moved over 200 yards down the main road, away from Israeli forces.
A post-mortem examination of Eygi in Türkiye also said she was killed by a long-distance shot.
Eygi's family says she was killed in a targeted attack and is calling on the U.S. government to launch an independent investigation into her killing, similar to the one being conducted by the Turkish government.
Ankara said it would safeguard Eygi’s rights and deliver a report and evidence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which would also be presented to the ongoing trial of Israeli perpetrators of crimes in Gaza at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Upon arrival, O’Sullivan first visited the International Freedom Flotilla Coalition members in Istanbul. The coalition, founded by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and consisting of activists, lawyers, doctors and nurses from over 40 countries, aims to deliver humanitarian aid directly to blockaded Gaza but their ships, which cannot sail without flags, have been blocked by pro-Israeli lobbies.
Speaking to reporters at the Haydarpaşa port on Istanbul’s Asian side where coalition’s aid-laden ships are docked, O’Sullivan said she was right next to Eygi when she was killed.
"All of Israel's talk about this being a mistake is a stupid lie. This was clearly an execution and it was deliberate," O’Sullivan said.
She said Israeli authorities aimed to discourage international volunteers like themselves.
Referring to the criminal complaint they filed at the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara and the Turkish government’s criminal complaint, O’Sullivan said the two cases have merged.
"As the first-hand witness to the incident, I am here to give my testimony to the public prosecutor in Ankara," O’Sullivan said.