Sindikasi Urges Government to Free Indonesian Citizens Detained by Israel
The Union of Media and Creative Industry Workers for Democracy (Sindikasi) has urged the Indonesian government to release Indonesian activists and journalists detained by Israel. Nine Indonesian nationals were detained by the Israeli military in international waters while aboard the humanitarian-mission vessel Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 bound for Gaza.
Sindikasi urged the Indonesian Foreign Ministry to take maximum diplomatic steps to ensure the safety and release of all Indonesians detained by Israel. According to Ikhsan Raharjo, the union’s chairman, the government should strengthen international diplomatic pressure so that humanitarian aid access to Gaza is not obstructed, and this should be pursued through bilateral and multilateral forums.
Sindikasi also condemned the interception of activists and journalists by the Israeli military, describing the act as kidnapping.
The Israeli Navy intercepted and detained the crew aboard Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 on Monday. The convoy is an international civilian coalition seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Palestine.
There are nine Indonesian nationals involved in Global Peace Convoy Indonesia (GPCI) in this convoy. At least three of them are journalists: Bambang Noroyono and Thoudy Badai Rifan Billah from Republika, and Andre Prasetyo Nugroho from Tempo TV.
The Global Sumud Flotilla fleet departed Marmaris, Turkey on Thursday 14 May 2026 with 54 ships and crews from around 70 countries, carrying food and medicines. The fleet had entered international waters and was about 310 nautical miles from Gaza when intercepted by the Israeli military.
Journalist Andre Prasetyo Nugroho lost contact in waters near Gaza after the humanitarian logistics vessel he was aboard, Ozgurluk, was intercepted by the Israeli military on Monday.
Tempo TV producer Dheayu Jihan said the last communication with Andre was recorded on Sunday night at around 22:42 WIB. In that contact, Andre said his position was already entering the red zone.
Andre’s phone number was still active until Monday afternoon around 14:00 WIB. Editorial staff in Jakarta tried sending text messages to monitor Andre’s condition. The messages showed a delivered status but received no response. Andre’s phone was later confirmed inactive when the next message sent at 14:30 WIB showed only a single tick.
According to Jihan, there has been no news about Andre’s whereabouts since then until the editorial desk received information from Global Peace Convoy Indonesia (GPCI) at 21:15 WIB.
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli military’s interception of several ships in the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian mission and urged Israel to release all detained ships and crew immediately.
“We will continue to maintain contact with relevant parties to obtain up-to-date information on the condition of the Indonesian nationals, while preparing contingency measures, including protection facilitation and speeding up repatriation if required,” said Yvonne Mewengkang, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Tempo, on Monday night, 18 May 2026.