Swedish crime author Henning Mankell aboard pro-Palestinian boat

Image Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesAuthor Henning Mankell, creator of the best-selling character Kurt Wallander, was one of the activists aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla when it was stormed by Israeli forces yesterday, killing at least nine civilians, AFP reports. Mankell joined the blockade-breaking ships via Cyprus in a professed sign of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

The spokesman for Sweden’s foreign ministry told AFP that the author, along with the eight other Swedes involved, have been detained by the Israelis, and are faced with the choice of deportation or trial in an Israeli court. Mankell has long been involved in international aid, donating millions of dollars of his profits to charities benefiting children in Africa. Last week he told a Swedish radio program in an interview, “I think that when one talks about solidarity, one must always know that actions are what proves destiny. It is with actions that we prove we are ready to support something we believe is important.”