Israeli Forces Detain Freedom Flotilla Activists; Adalah Demands Their Immediate Release and Disclosure of Their Whereabouts After Unlawful Interception of the Madleen
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel has sent an urgent legal letter to Israeli authorities demanding information on the whereabouts of the 12 activists forcibly detained after Israeli naval forces unlawfully seized the Madleen, a vessel sailing as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen in international waters at around 3:00 a.m. Israel time on 9 June 2025, and contact with the activists was lost. This peaceful civilian mission sought to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, enforced as part of a broader policy of engineered starvation and an ongoing 20-month-long genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Madleen carried humanitarian supplies, including medical equipment, baby formula, and clean water systems.
The flotilla never entered Israeli territorial waters, nor was it intended to do so. The Madleen was sailing in international waters, where Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority, and was headed toward the territorial waters of the State of Palestine, as recognized under international law. The ship was intercepted after footage showed drones dropping an unidentified white substance onto it and the activists.
Israel’s interception of the Madleen and the arrest of peaceful, unarmed activists delivering humanitarian aid violate international law. The siege of Gaza, an illegal blockade that deliberately starves a vulnerable population, constitutes prohibited collective punishment and flagrantly violates the ICJ’s provisional measures in the genocide case (South Africa v. Israel). Activists have a legitimate right to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza’s starving civilians, and preventing the ship from reaching Gaza while detaining its volunteers breaches Israel’s binding legal obligations.
A total of 12 people were on board the Madleen, including 11 activists and one journalist. Among them are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan, Yasemin Acar from Germany, Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi and Reva Viard from France, Thiago Avila from Brazil, Suayb Ordu from Turkey, Sergio Toribio from Spain, Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.
Adalah demands the immediate disclosure of the activists’ location and legal status, and their access to legal counsel to enable legal representation before Israeli authorities and tribunals. Adalah will pursue legal actions to secure the activists’ safety and release.
Image courtesy of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s Instagram page:
