Good News! All Global Sumud Flotilla Activists Freed by Israel After Imprisonment at Ktziot

Good news comes from the fate of Global Sumud Flotilla activists on a humanitarian mission to Gaza. They, including nine Indonesians, have been released from Israel’s Ktziot detention facility ahead of deportation, the Israeli human rights group Adalah said. In a statement on Thursday, 21 May, Adalah said it had received official confirmation from the Israeli prison service and government officials that all detainees held at the facility had been released and were being moved to be deported. ‘Most of them are being moved to Ramon Airport to fly out of the country,’ the group said. Adalah added that its legal team is ‘actively monitoring the transit process to ensure that all activists are deported safely, without further delays.’ The human rights group said the detention was illegal. ‘The entire operation, from illegal intercepts on the international waters to systemic torture, humiliation, and arbitrary detention of the activists, constitutes a real breach of international law,’ Adalah said. Adalah (which means ‘justice’ in Arabic) is a nonprofit human rights and legal centre in Israel run by Arab-Palestinian citizens. Based in Haifa, Israel, it focuses on advocacy and protection of the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of Arab minorities in Israel, as well as Palestinians in the occupied territories. It is the only Arab-Palestinian‑led organisation that regularly uses the Israeli judiciary (such as the Supreme Court) to bring strategic litigation. Adalah was founded by lawyer Hassan Jabareen in November 1996 with a primary focus on defending civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of Arab minorities in Israel, including land ownership, housing and planning rights. A further focus for Adalah is opposing laws or policies deemed discriminatory and defending the rights of detainees and Palestinians living under occupation under international humanitarian law. (Ant/P-3) Furthermore, Yvonne said that Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Sugiono, has also communicated with partners in several countries such as Turkey and Jordan. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said such treatment is unacceptable and violates human dignity, especially since some Italian nationals were detained. The Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned Israel’s actions against the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 and focused on the release of Indonesian citizens captured. Adalah has disclosed the alleged torture of Global Sumud Flotilla activists by Israel, ranging from electric shocks to hijab harassment. Foreign Minister Sugiono clarified that the nine Indonesian nationals detained by Israel on the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 were not kidnapped but rather an interception of aid to Gaza.