Two activists on a Gaza aid flotilla who were detained after Israel intercepted their vessels have been released and deported.
Spanish-Swedish citizen Saif Abukeshek, who is of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila were taken to Shikma Prison after Israeli forces seized 22 boats carrying around 175 activists near Crete, Greece. A total of 58 vessels from Spain, France and Italy went on the trip to break through Israel’s aid blockade.
Hadeel Abu Salih, a lawyer for human rights group Adalah who represented the activists, told the BBC the activists’ detention “was a sham proceeding with no legal basis, intended to punish them for attempting to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza,” as well as a violation of international law.
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Both were subjected to “ill-treatment” in Israeli custody, Abu Salih said. Adalah said this included “psychological abuse” such as prolonged interrogations, constant bright lighting in their cells, complete isolation, and transfers while blindfolded, according to the BBC. The two activists went on a hunger strike as a result. Experts from the United Nations said at least 35 people on the seized flotilla who were later freed also described “severe mistreatment,” as well as sexual assault “that may amount to torture, inhumane and degrading treatment.”
Speaking upon his arrival in Athens, Greece, before returning to Barcelona, Abukeshek said the treatment he faced cannot be compared to the suffering of “thousands of Palestinian prisoners, children, women and men.”
“The testimonies we hear of their torture, of their violation on daily basis — we have to continue mobilizing. We cannot forget the Palestinian prisoners,” Abukeshek said.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in a post on X, called Abukeshek and Ávila “professional provocateurs.”
“Israel will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” the foreign ministry said. It previously claimed that Abukeshek and Ávila are tied to an organization connected to Hamas.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition pushed back on this.
“If Israel had any evidence to support its outrageous accusations that the flotilla was affiliated with Hamas or engaged in unlawful activity, Thiago and Saif would not be released without charges,” the coalition said. “Their release further exposes these claims for what they are: politically motivated propaganda aimed at justifying violence against civilian flotilla participants and suppressing growing global resistance to Israel’s genocide and settler colonial violence.”
Before they were released, the governments of Spain and Brazil said in a joint statement that they “condemn in the strongest possible terms the abduction of two of their citizens in international waters by the Government of Israel.”
Members of the Global Sumud Flotilla said they are demanding explanations from members of the European Union, and specifically Greece, “after days of silence and complicity.”
“We call for immediate sanctions against Israel for this illegal abduction and for the constant violations of international law and the human rights of the Palestinian people,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said.
Israel also deported and arrested members of a flotilla that tried to go to Gaza in October 2025. Amnesty International said in a statement that it documented ill-treatment and abuse of activists detained in that case as well, including sleep deprivation, denial of drinking water and medical care.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Saturday that their movement will continue. On Friday, the Global Sumud Flotilla departed Crete with more than 30 vessels going toward Turkey for what they said is a “technical stop” on their way to Gaza.
