Lawmakers from various countries call for release of Global Sumud Flotilla detainees remaining in Israel
Dozens of parliamentarians from the European Parliament, the United Kingdom, Turkiye and several European countries, have signed an open letter, calling on Israel to release all the remaining members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that was recently intercepted by the Israeli army in international waters.
The document condemned Israel’s move as a “blatant breach of international law” and urged governments to press for “the immediate, unconditional release of remaining detainees, with protection from ill-treatment and guaranteed medical care, legal counsel and consular access”.
Last week, the Israeli navy intercepted and detained 45 vessels en route to Gaza that were carrying more than 450 activists and parliamentarians. Later, 308 of the detainees were deported to Turkiye, Greece and Slovakia, “yet many remain in a high-security prison with no clarity on their status”, the open letter said.
“Reports from released detainees cite lack of essential medicines, inadequate food and water, unsanitary conditions, humiliation, denial of counsel and consular access, and arbitrary delays – conduct that, if confirmed, breaches international humanitarian law,” the statement read.
“The Global Sumud Flotilla symbolised the moral courage of ordinary citizens acting where many governments have failed. To detain, humiliate, or prosecute these individuals is to criminalise compassion,” the document concluded.
Mandela’s grandson recounts Israeli detention after Gaza flotilla interception
The grandson of former South African president and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has arrived in Johannesburg after being deported by Israel, which prevented the flotilla he was part of from delivering aid to Gaza.
Mandla Mandela, who returned home with four other South Africans, said he and the group he was with were held in an Israeli prison for six days before being released and deported via Jordan.
“We were handcuffed with cable ties tied tightly behind our backs, taken off our boats, put on the platform and paraded for all … to see,” Mandela, 51, said at the airport, where he was greeted by supporters waving Palestinian flags.
“But it’s nothing compared to what Palestinians have been subjected to on a daily basis,” he said, referring to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Mandla Mandela
