An Israeli court extends the detention of the flotilla leaders in Gaza until Sunday

Barcelona / MadridAn Israeli court has extended until Sunday the detention of the two leaders of the Global Sumud Flotilla, the Catalan-Palestinian Saif Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila, who have been held in a penitentiary center since they were captured in international waters in Wednesday's raid on the civil humanitarian mission against the Gaza blockade. The court in the coastal city of Askhelon, where they are being held, ruled on Sunday that the prosecution had two more days to present the formal indictment. The Israeli government accuses them of terrorism and they are detained in Shikma prison, on hunger strike for the seventh day.

Lawyers Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, from the human rights organization Adalah, who represent the two activists, clarified during the hearing that no formal charges have been filed: the detention is officially maintained "for ongoing interrogation purposes." In a previous hearing, the Israeli prosecution had cited as alleged offenses "assisting the enemy in wartime," "contact with a foreign agent," "membership and provision of services to a terrorist organization," and "transfer of assets to a terrorist organization," but these have not yet been formalized. Adalah has also argued that since the activists were kidnapped more than 1,000 kilometers from Gaza and are not Israeli citizens, Israeli domestic legislation is not applicable to them. The judge has approved the extension of detention at the request of the prosecution, "based on secret evidence that neither the detainees nor their lawyers have been able to review," says the Defense.

From Madrid, Sally Issa, Abukeshek's wife, has publicly denounced the "torture" her husband has suffered and has called for society to mobilize to secure his release. She explained that Israel "does not allow" him to speak with family members, only with the consul and the lawyer, said he has been on hunger strike since he was detained, and recounted the mistreatment: "His hands were tied behind his back so tightly that he had no sensation in his hands. He suffered blows and was kept face down without being able to breathe. The shipmates told us they could hear the screams throughout the journey to Greece."

Colau ratifies complaint against Israel for the 2025 Flotilla raidThe Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who will appear in Congress on Thursday to explain his management of the case, has said that "no Israeli agent has any jurisdiction in international waters": "What is next? [..] This is not how a state that calls itself democratic acts", he said in an interview this Tuesday on TVE, from where he denounced what he described as a "completely illegal arrest" and without proof of Abukeshek, and demanded his "immediate release": "I insist, there is no proof", said the head of Spanish diplomacy

The rest of the 181 activists from the Flotilla who were captured on the high seas, in the surprise intervention of the Israeli navy more than a thousand kilometers from their borders, near the Greek island of Crete, have also reported beatings and mistreatment when their boats were boarded and they were forcibly transferred to an Israeli frigate, where they remained for 40 hours until they were handed over to the Greek authorities. About thirty crew members requested medical attention at the hospital in Crete and have denounced the complicity of Greece and the European Union in the military operation, contrary to international law and maritime law. Now the rest of the Flotilla is considering whether to continue with the thirty vessels that were not intercepted in the Israeli military operation, including those that were to join in Greece and Turkey. Since Friday, thousands of people around the world have organized protests against the Flotilla raid and to demand the release of those detained. In Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Rome, and Istanbul, emergency rallies were held. At least 11 states, including Spain and Brazil, as well as the UN and various NGOs, have condemned Israel's attack on the humanitarian convoy and have demanded that the Israeli authorities release Abukeshek and Ávila.

Colau ratifies complaint against Israel for the assault on the 2025 Flotilla

For her part, Ada Colau has ratified before the National High Court Prosecutor's Office the complaint she filed, along with other activists, for the "aggression" she suffered on board the Flotilla that tried to reach Gaza in the autumn of last year and which was also intercepted by Israel. Among others, the complaint is for the crimes of war crimes, crimes against humanity, inhumane treatment, illegal detention, and kidnapping against two ministers of Benjamin Netanyahu's government. "We are collectively fighting from civil society to do what European governments should be doing, which is to stop a genocidal and criminal state," defended the former mayor of Barcelona. Likewise, she expressed confidence that this will help to "accelerate international pressure" and called for the proceedings to be "expedited" and "not delayed" for months: "Lives are literally at stake."

The investigation is still in a very embryonic phase: the declaration before the Prosecutor's Office is a preliminary step for the public ministry to decide whether to file a complaint in the National High Court for a judge to decide whether or not to open a judicial case. Lawyer Jaume Asens is confident that the step they have taken "will be replicated" in other countries: "Spain sets an example and is at the forefront in the fight against Israel's impunity," he highlighted. This Tuesday, five people will testify, and on Wednesday it will be the turn, among others, of Jordi Coronas – an ERC councilor in Barcelona and who was the captain of one of the boats – and of a victim who will testify by video call from a flotilla that is currently at sea.