Turkey's Role in Release of 9 Indonesian Citizens Detained by Israeli Forces

TANGERANG — Maimon Herawati of the Steering Committee for the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) stated that the release of nine Indonesian citizens detained by Israeli forces during the GSF II volunteer programme was handled by the organisation’s legal team. The nine Indonesians were part of 428 volunteers from 50 countries detained by Israeli authorities. “We also prepared legal representatives, providing power of attorney to ensure volunteers are protected wherever they are through legal counsel,” she said. Legal representatives met the volunteers in the city. From Ashdod, volunteers were transported by bus to Ramon Airport in Eilat. From there, Turkish government aircraft collected the volunteers. Maimon said Turkey initially planned to only collect its own GSF volunteers. However, he requested that Indonesian volunteers also be included in the flight. “I asked for Indonesia to be included on the same aircraft. However, the Steering Committee reconsidered, deciding it was better to send everyone to Istanbul rather than splitting them between Jordan and Egypt,” Maimon said. “Turkey agreed to deploy three aircraft—Alhamdulillah. This showed Turkey’s significant behind-the-scenes assistance,” he added. The nine Indonesians were flown to Turkey along with other volunteers. Upon arrival, they underwent health checks. The Indonesian citizens stayed temporarily in Turkey before returning home. On Sunday afternoon, the group of nine Indonesians arrived in Indonesia on an Emirates flight. The nine individuals were Andi Angga Prasadewa, Rahendro Herubowo, Andre Prasetyo Nugroho, Thoudy Badai, Bambang Noroyono (Abeng), Herman Budianto Sudarsono, Ronggo Wirasanu, Asad Aras Muhammad, and Hendro Prasetyo. Foreign Minister Sugiono welcomed the volunteers’ return at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.