Max Civili
Press TV, Rome
Rifat Audeh is a Palestinian-Canadian former mechanical engineer, now working as a journalist and film-maker. His life was turned upside down on May 31, 2010.
Rifat was aboard the Freedom Flotilla - a convoy of six humanitarian ships which had left the coast of Cyprus the day before, aiming to deliver 10-thousand tons of aid supplies to Gaza in an effort to break Israel's three year siege of the territory - when the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, was abruptly attacked in international waters at 4.30 AM.
After the bloodbath, the traditional media outlets have often vilified the activists onboard the Flotilla for daring to stand against the Israeli onslaught. The media also portrayed them as terrorists. That's when Rifat decided to put together a documentary on Israel's raid.
The film, titled "The Truth: Lost at Sea" was directed by Rifat Audeh and was released in 2017. Audeh has toured Italy in the past days displaying his documentary in a number of Italian cities including Turin, Naples and Rome.
Back in 2014, the International Criminal Court prosecutor ruled that she would not prosecute Israel over the deadly flotilla raid, saying the facts were not of sufficient gravity.
However in September this year the court ordered the prosecutor to examine once more whether Israel should face charges and be brought before The Hague-based court. The prosecutor has until December 2 to review her case.