URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY\n\t\t<\/p>\n
ISR 001 \/ 0526 \/ OBS 022\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Arbitrary detention\u00a0
Abduction \/
Ill-treatment and torture \/\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Incommunicado detention<\/p>\n
Israel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
7\u00a0May 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in\u00a0Israel.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Description of the situation:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Observatory has been informed by Adalah (The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel) of the abduction, arbitrary detention and acts of ill-treatment against Thiago \u00c1vila e Silva Oliveira\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek, two human rights defenders involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a civilian initiative aiming to break the illegal blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to express solidarity with the Palestinian population, enduring an ongoing genocide. Saif Abukeshek is a Palestinian-Swedish-Spanish activist based in Barcelona who is president of the World Coalition Against the Occupation in Palestine and has worked for years to mobilise Palestinians in exile and across the diaspora in this struggle. Thiago \u00c1vila is a Brazilian environmental activist, who has been engaged for more than twenty years in campaigns for economic and environmental justice, and who is also deeply involved in solidarity with Palestine. He is a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee and a spokesperson for the initiative.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
On 5 May 2026, the Ashkelon Magistrates\u2019 Court, in southern Israel, extended the detention of both defenders by six days despite no formal charges having been filed. Their lawyers\u2019 appeal was rejected the following day. At the time of publication of this urgent appeal, Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek remain in arbitrary detention at Shikma detention under conditions amounting to ill-treatment, and they continue their hunger strike. Their health condition is rapidly deteriorating.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
On\u00a030 April 2026<\/a>, Israeli naval forces intercepted several vessels participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete, Greece, with approximately 175 activists on board. The Israeli authorities subsequently released them except for two\u00a0activists: Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek, who\u00a0were extraterritorially abducted, illegally detained incommunicado for two days in Israeli naval custody aboard an Italian-flagged ship\u00a0before being taken to the Shikma detention facility in Ashkelon, southern Israel, where they remain detained.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n On 1 May 2026, all other activists were disembarked in Crete and transferred to a beach before being transported by bus to Heraklion airport. Thirty-four of them were taken from the beach to a local hospital for medical examination and treatment. Several activists reported being subjected to physical violence by Israeli forces when they resisted the extraterritorial abduction of Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek. While most have since been released and are safe, one activist remains in hospital.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n On 2 May 2026, Adalah lawyers conducted the first visit to the Shikma prison, where both individuals were illegally detained. During this meeting, which was their first opportunity to communicate their situation,\u00a0Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek reported physical violence, degrading treatment, and being held for prolonged periods in stress positions by Israeli military forces while at sea. Adalah lawyers subsequently informed their relatives and relevant contacts of their situation.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n From 2 May until the day of publication of this urgent appeal, Thiago \u00c1vila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek have been detained at Shikma detention facility in Ashkelon, Israel. They testified that they were in total isolation, subjected to 24\/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they were moved, including during medical examinations. During this period,\u00a0Thiago \u00c1vila has been subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours, where the Israeli Intelligence Agency (ISA) (also known as the \u201cShabak\u201d or the \u201cShin Bet\u201d)\u00a0has explicitly threatened him, stating he would either be \u201ckilled\u201d or \u201cspend 100 years in jail.\u201d\u00a0The Observatory further notes that both defenders have initiated a hunger strike to protest their detention and treatment, with Abukeshek escalating to a dry hunger strike (without food or water) as of 6 May 2026.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n On 3 May 2026, the Ashkelon Magistrates\u2019 Court extended Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek\u2019s detention by two days. During the hearing, Israeli authorities presented a list of suspected offenses including assisting the enemy during wartime, contact with a foreign agent, membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation, and the transfer of property for a terrorist organisation. However, providing aid to a civilian population via a humanitarian flotilla cannot, as such, be considered as serving a terrorist organisation. The\u00a0report<\/a> A\/HRC\/61\/52 of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights excludes acts of advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial action that do not cause death or serious injury from the definition of terrorism. Adalah further argued that because the activists were abducted over 1,000 kilometers away from Gaza, Israel lacked legal authority to carry out their arrest, rendering the detention fundamentally unlawful.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n On 5 May 2026, Magistrates\u2019 Court Judge Yaniv Ben-Haroush of the Ashkelon Magistrates\u2019 Court granted the state\u2019s request to extend the detention of humanitarian activists Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek for an additional six days, until Sunday, 10 May 2026, at 9:00, in part based on secret evidence that neither the activists nor their lawyers were permitted to review. Although no formal charges have been filed, their detention is for the purposes of ongoing interrogation, which has been approved by the courts for a total period of one week to date, with the courts thus far failing to intervene in the activists’ ongoing unlawful detention. Adalah\u2019s appeal against the decision, filed on 5 May 2026 to the District Court, was rejected on 6 May 2026.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory recalls that OMCT, FIDH, and their respective network members have extensively documented the systematic use of torture by Israeli authorities, including in the context of the review of Israel by\u00a0the UN Committee Against Torture<\/a> in November 2025, as a means of dehumanisation and control over the Palestinian people – a pattern that has reached unprecedented levels of brutality since October 2023. Testimonies, legal analyses, and case studies reveal torture as a tool of political subjugation and war in the context of Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide in Gaza. The Observatory had also previously\u00a0denounced<\/a> the arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla in Israeli prisons when previously intercepted in 2025. The recent arrest of Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek further reinforces concerns regarding the criminalisation of humanitarian action and the use of detention measures to deter similar future initiatives.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory further recalls that the Global Sumud Flotilla is a legitimate, peaceful, and non-violent initiative, done in line with the principles of solidarity and the right to defend human rights. The violent repression of this initiative and the ongoing mistreatment of its participants are part of a broader pattern of state-sanctioned violence against Palestinians and international actors in solidarity with Palestinians that seeks to silence voices denouncing Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide and concrete acts to challenge the illegal siege in Gaza.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory strongly condemns the extraterritorial abduction, incommunicado detention and acts of torture and ill-treatment against Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek, which appear to be solely aimed at punishing them for their peaceful humanitarian action and to stand for justice, dignity, and human rights in Palestine, and at deferring other flotilla solidarity actions.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory finally recalls that Israel is bound by its obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which prohibits arbitrary detention under Article 9, and the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) and UN Committee Against Torture\u2019s concluding observations, which prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory urges the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek and to guarantee their access to legal counsel, adequate medical care, and regular contact with their families.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory will continue to closely monitor the situation, particularly as four Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessels have reported seeing drones and a helicopter circling them in recent days.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Action required:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Please write to the\u00a0Israeli authorities urging them to:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Guarantee in all circumstances the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Thiago \u00c1vila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek, as well as all other human rights defenders involved in Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessels;Immediately and unconditionally release Thiago \u00c1vila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek since their detention and the judicial harassment against them is aimed at punishing them for their legitimate humanitarian and solidarity activities for the Palestinian people;Carry out an immediate, thorough, transparent, and independent investigation into the above-mentioned acts of torture and ill-treatment against Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek, and hold all those responsible accountable;Immediately end the systematic and widespread use of torture and other ill-treatment in Israeli detention facilities, in accordance with the UN Convention against Torture and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;Guarantee to Thiago \u00c1vila and Saif Abukeshek regular access to legal counsel of their choice, as well as to communication with their families;Ensure that human rights activists supporting the Palestinian people, as well as all human rights defenders, can carry out their activities freely and without fear of reprisals.<\/p>\n Please write to the\u00a0Swedish, Spanish and Brazilian authorities urging them to:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Call the Israeli authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Thiago\u00a0\u00c1vila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek ;Call the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Thiago \u00c1vila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek and use all the tools at their disposal to ensure the activists\u2019 release, since their detention and the judicial harassment against them is aimed at punishing them for their legitimate humanitarian and solidarity activities for the Palestinian people ;Address the systematic and widespread nature of torture and other ill-treatment in Israel and to ensure accountability for crimes committed under international law;\u00a0\u00a0Request that their official representation participate in the hearings against\u00a0Thiago Avila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek and monitor compliance with international standards ;Visit\u00a0Thiago Avila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek in prison and assess the conditions of detention and the well-being of these individuals ;And to provide support and assistance to the families of\u00a0Thiago Avila\u00a0and Saif Abukeshek.<\/p>\n Addresses:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Israel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel\u2028Email : public@president.gov.il\u2028X : @Isaac_Herzog\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel\u2028Email : pm@pmo.gov.il\u2028X : @netanyahu\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Israel Katz, Minister of Foreign Affairs\u2028Email : sar@mfa.gov.il\u2028X : @Israel_katz\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Yariv Levin, Minister of Justice\u2028Email : sar@justice.gov.il\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Attorney General of Israel (poste actuellement occup\u00e9 par Gali Baharav-Miara)\u2028Email : yoetz@justice.gov.il\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n State Attorney \/ Director of Public Prosecutions (bureau du procureur d\u2019\u00c9tat)\u2028Email : stateattorney@justice.gov.il\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Israel Ministry of Justice (contact g\u00e9n\u00e9ral)\u2028Email : info@justice.gov.il\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u2028Email : info@mfa.gov.il\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva\u2028Email : mission-geneva@mfa.gov.il\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Mission of Israel to the European Union\u2028Email :\u00a0mission-eu@mfa.gov.il<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Sweden\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Carl XVI Gustaf, Head of State (King of Sweden), \u2028Contact : via la Cour royale, \u2028Email (g\u00e9n\u00e9ral) : info@kungahuset.se<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, \u2028Contact : Prime Minister\u2019s Office, \u2028T\u00e9l\u00e9phone : +46 8 405 10 00\u00a0\u2028\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Maria Malmer Stenergard, Minister for Foreign Affairs\u2028Contact : Ministry for Foreign Affairs\u2028T\u00e9l\u00e9phone (standard) : +46 8 405 10 00\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Gunnar Str\u00f6mmer, Minister of Justice, \u2028Contact : Ministry of Justice\u2028T\u00e9l\u00e9phone : +46 8 405 10 00\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Attorney General of Sweden (Chancellor of Justice), Anna Skarhed, \u2028Email : registrator@jk.se<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Director of Public Prosecutions \u2013 Petra Lundh\u2028Email : registrator@aklagare.se<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Swedish Prosecution Authority\u2028Email : registrator@aklagare.se<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden\u2028Email : ud.registrator@gov.se<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations in Geneva\u2028Email : mission.geneva@gov.se<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Mission of Sweden to the European Union\u2028Email : representation.eu@gov.se\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Spain\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Felipe VI, Head of State (King of Spain)\u2028Contact : Casa Real\u2028Email :\u00a0comunicacion@casareal.es<\/a>Pedro S\u00e1nchez, Prime Minister of Spain\u2028Contact : Presidencia del Gobierno\u2028Email (g\u00e9n\u00e9ral) :\u00a0publica@mpr.es<\/a>Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs\u2028Contact : Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Uni\u00f3n Europea y Cooperaci\u00f3n\u2028Email (information g\u00e9n\u00e9rale) :\u00a0informae@maec.es<\/a>F\u00e9lix Bola\u00f1os, Minister of Justice\u2028Contact : Ministerio de la Presidencia, Justicia y Relaciones con las Cortes\u2028Email (g\u00e9n\u00e9ral) :\u00a0contacto@mpr.es<\/a>Attorney General of Spain (Fiscal General del Estado) \u2013 \u00c1lvaro Garc\u00eda Ortiz\u2028Contact : Fiscal\u00eda General del Estado\u2028Email :\u00a0fiscalia.general@fiscal.es<\/a>State Prosecutor\u2019s Office \/ Ministerio Fiscal\u2028Email :\u00a0fiscalia.general@fiscal.es<\/a>Ministerio de Justicia\u2028Email (g\u00e9n\u00e9ral) :\u00a0informacion@mjusticia.es<\/a>Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Uni\u00f3n Europea y Cooperaci\u00f3n\u2028, Emails utiles : informae@maec.es<\/a>\u00a0;\u00a0consular@maec.es<\/a>Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations in Geneva\u2028Email :\u00a0mision.ginebra@maec.es<\/a>Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union\u2028Email : rep.ue@maec.es<\/p>\n Brazil\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n H.E. Mr. Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, President of the Federal Republic of\u00a0Brazil, Email :\u00a0secom.inter@presidencia.gov.br,<\/a>\u00a0X : @LulaOficialMr. M\u00e1rcio Costa Mac\u00eado, Secretary of State of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Email :\u00a0gpr.agenda@presidencia.gov.br<\/a>,\u00a0sgpr.chegab@presidencia.gov.br<\/a>,Mr. Ricardo Lewandowski, Secretary of State of Justice and Public Security, Email :\u00a0senasp@mj.gov.br<\/a>.Ms. Maca\u00e9 Evaristo, Secretary of State for Human Rights and Citizenship, Email :\u00a0agenda.gab@mdh.gov.br<\/a>,\u00a0coordenacao.gab@mdh.gov.br<\/a>,\u00a0gab.mdh@mdh.gov.br<\/a>, @mdhcbrasilMs. Sonia Bone de Sousa Silva Santos, Secretary of State for Indigenous Peoples, Email :\u00a0agenda.mpi@povosindigenas.gov.br<\/a>H.E. Mr. Tovar Da Silva Nunes, Permanent Mission of\u00a0Brazil\u00a0to the United Nations in Geneva, Email :\u00a0delbrasgen@itamaraty.gov.br<\/a>H.E. Mr. Haroldo de Macedo Ribeiro, Ambassador, Embassy of\u00a0Brazil\u00a0in Brussels, Email :\u00a0brasemb.bruxelas@itamaraty.gov.br<\/a>, X : @BrazilBrussels<\/p>\n Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Israel, Sweden, Spain, Brazil in your respective countries.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n ***\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Geneva-Paris, 7 May 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of\u00a0ProtectDefenders.eu,<\/a>\u00a0the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u2022 E-mail: alert@observatoryfordefenders.org\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u2022 Tel FIDH: + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u2022 Tel OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY ISR 001 \/ 0526 \/ OBS 022\u00a0 Arbitrary detention\u00a0Abduction \/Ill-treatment and torture \/…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7083,7085,7082,37,7079,7084,7081,7080],"class_list":{"0":"post-102732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-assist-victims","9":"tag-human-rights-defenders","10":"tag-ill-treatment","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-omct","13":"tag-protect-human-rights","14":"tag-torture","15":"tag-world-organisation-against-torture"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116534634348359198","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}