Lawyer: Israel threatened to kill two activists during interrogation
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Two activists seized by Israeli forces on international waters while carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza were threatened with death or long-term imprisonment during interrogation, their lawyer said. The Adalah legal center said the men have endured psychological abuse and solitary confinement since their capture last week. They have been charged with aiding the enemy in wartime and providing services to a terrorist organization, charges they deny.
Two activists seized by Israeli forces on international waters while carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza were threatened with death or long-term imprisonment, their lawyer said Monday.
The Adalah legal center, representing Thiago Avila and Saif Abu Keshek, said the two have been subjected to psychological abuse and held in solitary confinement since their capture last week.
On Tuesday, a court in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon extended their detention until Sunday.
Abu Keshek, a Spanish-Swedish national of Palestinian origin, and Avila, a Brazilian national, were captured late Wednesday when Israeli naval forces raided a Gaza aid flotilla on international waters off Greece.
They were taken to Israel and charged with aiding the enemy in wartime, contacting foreign agents, being members of and providing services to a terrorist organization, and transferring money to that group. Both deny the charges.
Since their detention, the men have been held in cells with constant bright lights, a measure meant to cause sleep deprivation and disorientation, according to Adalah. They are also blindfolded whenever they leave the cell, including for medical check-ups, which Adalah described as a serious violation of medical ethics.
Avila said he was subjected to continuous interrogations lasting up to eight hours, during which he was threatened with being "killed" or "imprisoned for 100 years." He was also held in very low temperatures, the group said.
Both men, now in solitary confinement, entered the sixth day of a hunger strike to protest what legal experts describe as an unlawful arrest outside Israeli territorial waters.
Lawyers Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma of Adalah told the court that the case was "wrong and illegal," arguing there is no legal basis to apply Israeli law to foreign nationals on international waters.
During Friday's raid, Israeli forces intercepted at least 21 vessels heading to Gaza and detained 175 activists, an act described by organizers from the Global Sumud Flotilla as "piracy." The vessels were seized about 600 nautical miles from the Gaza coast, near the Greek island of Crete.
Spain and Brazil issued a joint statement Friday calling the detention of Avila and Abu Keshek illegal.
