TWO Newport women were held in cramped Israeli prison cells for five days after being “brutally”

forced to the ground, handcuffed and arrested.

Speaking to the Argus 30 minutes after her release from Givon prison last night, Pippa Bartolotti, deputy leader of the Green Party in Wales, described the episode as a “nightmare” and said they were never told how long they would be kept in prison.

Ms Bartolotti, 57, and Joyce Giblin, of Bassaleg Road, were among a group of British nationals detained by Israeli authorities at David Ben- Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, after travelling out on a peace-making exercise in the West Bank.

Ms Bartolotti, a mother of three, described their treatment by the Israeli authorities as “oppressive and awful” and said at no point was it explained why she had been arrested, nor was she allowed to make a phone call. No charges were brought against the pair and they were told of their release five minutes before they were let go at around 5.15pmGMT.

Neither has been charged with any crime.

The pair, along with a woman from Swansea, were escorted to David Ben-Gurion Airport last night by six officers. Ms Bartolotti, from Malpas, said she was “brutally forced to the floor and handcuffed” by police when she started speaking to journalists after being allowed through passport control.

She was hauled into a police van and was told she was being taken to a hotel and only knew of the lie when she saw razor wire through the gaps in the side of the van as they arrived at the prison in Ramla.

Ms Bartolotti added said there were six protesters in her cell, which measured roughly 27ft by 21ft with a hole in the ground for a toilet. Mrs Giblin was held in a separate cell.

They had three bunk beds in the cell with no bedding, meaning the ladies suffered insect bites.

She added: “We never had a clue howlong we’d be held for, it was very cramped and we never had any clue how long we’d be held for. It’s been a bit of a nightmare.”

Ms Bartolotti was due on an Easyjet flight back to Luton airport last night and said she expected to be home before lunchtime today.