Maimon Herawati: Turkey Sends Three Planes, 'I Feel Turkey is Behind the Scenes'

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Maimon Herawati of the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 Steering Committee revealed Turkey played a major role in repatriating international volunteers, including two Republika journalists who were detained by Israeli authorities during a humanitarian mission to Gaza.

According to Maimon, Turkey initially prepared one aircraft to evacuate around 90 Turkish participants. However, after coordination by the Global Sumud Flotilla committee, Turkey sent three planes to consolidate all volunteers in Istanbul first.

‘Alhamdulillah, Turkey has been extremely helpful. Initially, Turkey was only sending one aircraft for the 90 Turkish participants, and we requested to include Indonesian citizens. However, the Steering Committee thought it better to centralise everyone in Istanbul to avoid dispersal to Jordan and Egypt,’ Maimon said in Jakarta on Sunday, 24 May 2026.

She explained that volunteers were taken to Ashdod after being detained in international waters. Following legal assistance, they were transported by bus to Ramon Airport in Eilat before flying to Turkey.

Maimon stated the decision to centralise all volunteers in Istanbul was made to facilitate health checks, visa processing, and the collection of legal evidence regarding alleged violations experienced during detention.

‘So from one aircraft, Turkey sent three. I feel Turkey has been behind the scenes in providing significant assistance,’ she said.

She also praised the Turkish government for providing accommodation, medical checks, and repatriation processes for the volunteers to their respective countries.

Besides Turkey, Maimon said her team also communicated with Egyptian, Jordanian, and Cypriot authorities as a precaution in case volunteers were transferred to those countries.

She noted that the Global Sumud Flotilla’s coordination system was prepared from the start, including information channels and legal support for participants. ‘At the time of the abduction, we knew where our colleagues were taken,’ she said.

Maimon added that all detained Global Sumud Flotilla participants have now been released. She said the Adalah legal team swiftly provided support after volunteers arrived in Ashdod.

‘Because there were no legal violations whatsoever,’ she said.