Adalah says Israel will release and deport Global Sumud Flotilla activists Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek after more than a week in detention and hunger strike protests. [Getty]
Israel is set to release two human rights activists involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) on Saturday after they spent more than a week in detention while carrying out hunger strike protests.
According to the Israeli rights group Adalah, Brazilian socio-environmentalist Thiago Avila and Spanish-Swedish national of Palestinian origin Saif Abukeshek will be transferred to Israel’s immigration authorities following their release and remain in custody pending deportation.
“Adalah is closely monitoring development to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days,” the organisation said in a statement.
Abukeshek and Avila were brought to Israel for questioning last week after their flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy in international waters off Greece, raising concerns over the legality of their detention.
All of the activists detained during the interception were later released, except for Abukeshek and Avila.
Adalah said the two human rights defenders were “held unlawfully by Israel”, adding that “they were held in total isolation under punitive conditions despite the purely civilian nature of their mission.”
The organisation added: “Both activists have been on a hunger strike since that time, which Abukeshek escalated to refusing water on the evening of 5 May.”
Pablo Castilla, a spokesperson for the GSF in Catalonia, also alleged that Abukeshek and Avila had been “subjected to physical and psychological torture”, held “in total isolation”, exposed to “constant light 24 hours a day to prevent them from sleeping”, and moved “with their eyes covered” whenever they were taken elsewhere, including to the infirmary.
On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended the pair’s detention until Sunday to allow police additional time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.
Their legal team subsequently appealed against the continued detention, but the appeal was rejected by a district court on Wednesday.
Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have all called for the activists’ immediate release.
Spain’s consul in Tel Aviv visited Abukeshek on Tuesday and reportedly reiterated that his arrest was “illegal”.
Israeli authorities have denied allegations of abuse but have not filed any charges against either man.
Adalah previously said Israeli authorities accused the pair of “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation”.
Israel has alleged that both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, a group Washington has accused of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Hamas. However, no evidence has been publicly presented to support the allegation.
The flotilla departed from France, Spain and Italy with the stated aim of breaking Israel’s blockade on Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Israel has controlled all entry points into Gaza since imposing a blockade on the enclave in 2007.
According to GSF representatives, an international assembly is due to take place in Turkey this weekend to determine the flotilla’s next steps.
