In a development that has drawn sharp international condemnation, an Israeli court has granted a two-day extension to the detention of two pro-Palestinian activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla in international waters, their legal representative confirmed Sunday.
The two detainees — Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian descent, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian national — were taken into Israeli custody by Israeli authorities late Wednesday after the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. More than 100 other fellow activists on board the aid vessel were instead diverted and transferred to the Greek island of Crete following the raid.
Allegations of abusive treatment have quickly emerged from the detention process. According to Brazil’s embassy in Israel, which conducted an official monitored visit with Avila, the activist reported being tortured, beaten and subjected to ongoing mistreatment while held by Israeli officials. During the visit, which separated Avila from embassy representatives by a glass barrier and prevented open, unmonitored communication, diplomatic staff observed clear visible bruising on his face. Avila also told officials he experiences severe persistent pain, most acutely in his shoulder.
The Global Sumud Flotilla organization, which coordinated the aid mission, has also backed abuse claims against Abu Keshek, citing direct eyewitness accounts that confirm he was tortured and subjected to severe ill-treatment while held aboard an Israeli military vessel before being transferred to Israeli territory.
An official spokesperson for the Israeli judiciary confirmed the two-day extension of the activists’ remand, pushing their next custody review to May 5. Israeli authorities had originally petitioned the court for a four-day extension of detention, basing their request on a series of contested criminal allegations against the pair.
Adalah, the Israeli legal rights group representing the two activists, has publicly outlined the charges: assisting an enemy during wartime, unauthorized contact with a foreign agent, membership in a terrorist organization, providing services to a designated terrorist group, and transferring property to terrorist actors. Both Abu Keshek and Avila have formally rejected all allegations against them.
Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, the Adalah solicitors arguing the case before the Israeli court, emphasized that the entire legal proceedings against the foreign activists are fundamentally “flawed and illegal.” The legal team noted there is no valid legal basis for applying Israeli criminal law extraterritorially to actions carried out by foreign nationals in international waters, where the flotilla was intercepted. Abu Salih further added that both men were subjected to physical violence during their transfer to Israel, and were held continuously handcuffed and blindfolded from their arrest through Thursday morning.
As of Sunday, the Israeli military had not issued an immediate response to a request for comment from Reuters on the abuse allegations. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has previously labeled organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla as “professional provocateurs.”
The mission that ended in interception is the second Global Sumud Flotilla, which set off from the Spanish port of Barcelona on April 12 with the explicit goal of breaking Israel’s long-running aerial, land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip by delivering desperately needed humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. In response to the arrests, the governments of Spain and Brazil released a joint official statement Friday branding the detention of the two activists as illegal under international law.