Geneva – The Israeli subjection of Spanish activist Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila to arbitrary judicial and investigative procedures following their abduction in international waters is extremely concerning.
The Israeli navy unlawfully intercepted vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Greece while the flotilla was carrying out a declared civilian humanitarian mission to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade.
Both activists appeared this morning before the Israeli Magistrate's Court in Ashkelon for the second time in two days, in hearings to extend their detention following their unlawful transfer to Israel.
Making a legal case of security and terrorism out of participation in a declared civilian humanitarian flotilla reflects a dangerous and arbitrary use of the judicial system to criminalise humanitarian work and strip it of protection
The court ordered a six-day extension of their detention until Sunday morning, 10 May 2026, despite no formal charges being filed and although their detention remains solely for investigative purposes. The decision was based on vague suspicions unsupported by sufficient evidence, as well as secret material that neither the activists nor their lawyers were allowed to access or effectively challenge.
According to legal and human rights sources, the Israeli prosecution has presented charges including wartime collaboration, correspondence with a foreign agent, membership in a terrorist organisation, and providing alleged services to a terrorist-designated entity. Both activists and their legal representatives deny these allegations.
The court's decision to grant the Israeli authorities the full extension requested, without imposing clear judicial limits on the investigation, heightens concerns that detention, interrogation, and secret evidence are being used to punish and criminalise peaceful humanitarian activity. This is particularly troubling given the activists' continued isolation, exposure to constant bright light, blindfolding during transfers and medical examinations, and their ongoing hunger strike since Thursday morning, 30 April, in protest of their detention and treatment.
Making a legal case of security and terrorism out of participation in a declared civilian humanitarian flotilla reflects a dangerous and arbitrary use of the judicial system to criminalise humanitarian work and strip it of protection. It sets a dangerous precedent, enabling the prosecution of solidarity activists and humanitarian workers as security threats rather than safeguarding them as civilian actors.
This approach erodes protections for civilians and those seeking to assist them, undermines guarantees of personal liberty, fair trial, and due process, and deters peaceful humanitarian initiatives aimed at lifting the blockade, thereby contributing to the continued siege, starvation, and isolation of Gaza's population.
Both Ávila and Abu Keshek reported being subjected to severe physical and psychological violence from the first moments of their unlawful detention. They were kept handcuffed and blindfolded for prolonged periods at sea under degrading conditions.
According to testimonies relayed by lawyers and released activists, Abu Keshek was separated from other detainees and subjected to severe ill-treatment, with witnesses reporting that his screams were audible on board. Ávila reportedly lost consciousness twice due to the assaults he endured. Testimonies also describe beatings, isolation, deprivation of basic needs, and injuries among several flotilla members, warranting an immediate independent investigation and accountability for all those who ordered, carried out, or concealed these acts.
The described conditions of detention and treatment constitute a clear violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. According to available testimonies, these included prolonged isolation in cells lacking basic humane conditions, continuous exposure to bright light and extreme cold, blindfolding even during medical examinations, and denial of contact with family members and the outside world, with communication limited to restricted meetings with lawyers.
Such practices cannot be justified by any security considerations. Their cumulative effect, particularly in the context of unlawful incommunicado detention, amounts to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and may constitute torture if it is established that severe pain or suffering was intentionally inflicted for purposes such as punishment, intimidation, or extracting information or coerced confessions.
The charges against the two activists are not based on any violent act or conduct that could reasonably support terrorism allegations. Instead, they relate solely to their participation in a declared civilian humanitarian flotilla seeking to break the blockade on Gaza and deliver aid.
The interception of vessels in international waters near Crete, the detention of foreign nationals on board, their transfer to Israel, and their subjection to criminal and security proceedings before Israeli courts raise serious concerns about the lack of a legal basis for Israeli jurisdiction. It reflects an arbitrary use of counterterrorism laws to punish peaceful humanitarian activity, particularly given that available information indicates both activists were part of monitoring teams rather than on vessels designated to reach Gaza.
Additionally, isolating the activists and denying them regular communication with their families and lawyers constitutes a serious violation of personal liberty guarantees and due process, increasing the risk of torture and ill-treatment in the absence of effective oversight. The use of isolation, restraints, blindfolding, and denial of communication, alongside reported physical and psychological violence, forms part of a broader pattern of degrading treatment aimed at isolating detainees and stripping them of basic legal and humanitarian protections.
Intercepting unarmed civilian vessels in international waters constitutes a clear violation of the freedom of navigation on the high seas, a well-established principle of international law that guarantees civilian vessels the right to sail without interference or coercion by states lacking legal jurisdiction. The Israeli navy's interception, seizure, and diversion of these vessels outside its territorial waters, without a declared legal basis or a specific security threat, directly undermines the regime of free navigation and effectively extends state authority beyond its lawful limits.
Furthermore, the detention of foreign solidarity activists aboard these vessels and their forcible transfer to Israel is inseparable from the unlawful interception in international waters and constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty and unlawful subjection of foreign nationals to Israeli jurisdiction for acts that occurred outside its territory. Participation in a peaceful humanitarian mission cannot justify arrest, transfer, detention, or treatment as security or terrorism suspects.
The illegality of this process persisted through its subsequent stages, as the activists remain detained without formal charges, and their detention has been extended based on secret evidence inaccessible to the defence. This renders their detention arbitrary and devoid of basic safeguards. Subjecting them to judicial and investigative procedures built on this unlawful foundation transforms the entire process into illegal proceedings that undermine the essence of the right to defence and fair trial, and instrumentalise the judiciary to criminalise peaceful humanitarian action and punish international solidarity with Gaza's population.
The international community must urgently intervene to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila, halt the arbitrary criminal and security proceedings against them, ensure full access to their lawyers and families, and guarantee immediate and effective consular access, including prompt visits to assess their physical and psychological condition, document alleged torture and ill-treatment, and take all necessary steps to ensure their safe return to their home countries and provide reparation.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor calls on the governments of Spain and Brazil to initiate national legal proceedings, each within its jurisdiction, to investigate the abduction of their nationals from international waters, their forced transfer to Israel, and the arbitrary detention and torture or ill-treatment they experienced, and to hold accountable all those responsible for ordering, carrying out, or concealing these acts, rather than limiting their response to diplomatic efforts or calls for release.
All states, particularly those whose nationals participated in the flotilla, should adopt clear public positions and concrete measures to protect their citizens and humanitarian activists from arbitrary prosecution and detention, press for an end to the misuse of counterterrorism laws to criminalise peaceful humanitarian work, and reject attempts to frame civilian initiatives aimed at breaking the blockade and delivering aid as security or terrorism threats.
Relevant United Nations mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur on torture, the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, must take urgent action regarding the activists' detention and alleged torture and ill-treatment, formally address the relevant authorities, demand their release, and investigate violations from the moment of interception in international waters through their detention.
Targeting a civilian humanitarian flotilla in international waters cannot be viewed in isolation from the underlying cause that prompted such initiatives, namely the ongoing unlawful blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the resulting widespread starvation, deprivation, and systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid. Protecting humanitarian work requires not only the release of the activists but also addressing the root cause by immediately lifting the blockade on Gaza, opening all crossings to ensure the unhindered flow of aid, and guaranteeing the safe and sustained delivery of food, medicine, fuel, and medical supplies to civilians without politicisation, coercion, or military control.
Euro-Med Monitor urges the international community to move beyond verbal condemnation and adopt concrete measures, including effective diplomatic and legal action against those responsible for intercepting civilian vessels and detaining and torturing activists, ending any political, military, or security support that contributes to the continuation of the blockade or shields violations, and ensuring full accountability for those responsible.
