The arrest of the Palestinian-Spanish activist Saif Abukeshek, who was on the Global Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza, has been extended until next Tuesday. This was announced this Sunday by a court in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
The arrest occurred last Thursday in international waters when he was traveling in the flotilla with his Brazilian companion Thiago Ávila, who is also in the custody of the Israeli security forces.
The NGO Adalah, which is in charge of legal advice for the activists, has confirmed in a statement the extension of the arrests until next Tuesday; a more lax decision in relation to the initial request of the Israeli Prosecutor’s Office, which requested a four-day extension.
Prosecutors have accused both activists, according to the NGO, of “collaborating with the enemy in times of war, contacting a foreign agent, membership in a terrorist organization and transferring assets to a terrorist organization”, in reference to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Adalah’s two lawyers handling the case, Hadil Abu Salí and Lubna Tuma, argued in court that the entire judicial process against the activists “is fundamentally flawed and illegal” because there is no legal basis for the extraterritorial application of these crimes given that both activists were detained in international waters.
The Government demands his “immediate release”
Faced with this situation, the Government of Pedro Sánchez has once again spoken out, demanding the “immediate release” of Abukeshek, “illegally detained.” The Spanish consul in Tel Aviv has requested a visit for this Monday “and will visit again as many times as possible.” In addition, he remains “in constant contact” with his family.
For its part, the Global Sumud Flotilla has once again asked both Spain and Brazil to act “immediately.” This is what they said after the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court extended the detention of the two activists. “They acted because the world has failed to stop the destruction of Palestinian life. Governments now face a clear dilemma: respect international law or continue to be complicit in its destruction,” they say.
Also in Spain this Sunday, dozens of people took to the streets in Pamplona to denounce the “clear violation of International Law” carried out by Israel with two members of the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and who have been “kidnapped.”
In statements to the EFE agency, the spokesperson for the organizing platform assures that the protest responds to an episode that, although “unfortunately not unusual”, is on this occasion of greater severity, since “not only have ships of the flotilla been intercepted, but also two of its members have been kidnapped and transferred to Israel.”
