RELEASE THIAGO AND SAIF: Abducted Flotilla Activists Subjected to Violence and Unlawful Interrogation in Israeli Custody
6 May 2026
Israeli District Court Rejects Appeal; Activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek to Remain in Detention Until Sunday, 10 May
Today, the Beer Sheva District Court rejected an appeal filed by Adalah against the continued detention of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) activists and leaders Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek. The court upheld the Magistrates’ Court’s decision to extend their detention until Sunday, 10 May 2026, at 9:00 AM.
Adalah maintains that this decision is both unlawful and unreasonable. As Adalah Attorneys Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma argued before the District Court, the court failed to address the state’s fundamental lack of legal authority to carry out an arrest—which was effectively an abduction—in international waters. A lawful arrest under these circumstances would require formal extradition. Since there is no lawful authority to arrest, every subsequent day of detention is illegal. This is especially egregious given that the activists were abducted from an Italian-flagged vessel, placing them under Italian jurisdiction. The operation is a clear violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that only the flag state may order the arrest or detention of a ship, even for purposes of investigation. The Italian government has already condemned Israel’s move as illegal.
The District Court relied on secret evidence, which the legal defense team had no access to and could not challenge. Furthermore, the court failed to properly address the legal team’s argument that all information provided by the activists during their interrogations by the Shabak intelligence Agency (ISA) and the Israeli police, which have largely focused on the GSF, is fully transparent and already publicly available online.
This decision reflects deeply concerning judicial complicity, allowing baseless security claims to justify the activists’ continued interrogation and detention. It is part of a broader state effort to criminalize acts of solidarity and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Both activists have now been on a hunger strike for nearly a week, since the early hours of last Thursday when they were abducted by the Israeli navy. Saif Abu Keshek has now escalated his strike and is also refusing water. They continue to be held in total isolation under punitive conditions despite the purely civilian nature of their mission.
Adalah continues to represent Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek before the Israeli authorities and to demand their immediate release.
5 May 2026
Appeal Hearing Tomorrow (6 May) before Beer Sheva District Court Challenging Today’s Court Decision to Extend Detention of GS Flotilla Activists
Adalah has filed an appeal to be heard tomorrow, 6 May 2026, at 12:30 PM at the Beer Sheva District Court, challenging today’s decision by the Magistrate’s Court to extend the detention of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek.
In the appeal, Adalah Attorneys Lubna Tuma and Hadeel Abu Salih argue that the lower court erred in finding reasonable suspicion that they committed serious terror-related crimes, as alleged by the State of Israel, as they were engaged in a transparent humanitarian mission to Gaza to help the civilian population and challenge the unlawful blockade on Gaza. They argued further that there are no legal grounds for detention given the lack of dangerousness or risk of witness tampering and that the police failed to investigate the activists’ coherent accounts, which align with their public statements. Adalah continues to demand their immediate release.
5 May 2026
Israeli Magistrates’ Court Extends Detention of Abducted GSF Activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek for Six More Days; Adalah to Appeal to District Court
Today, 5 May 2026, the Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court granted the state’s request to extend the detention of humanitarian activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek for an additional six days, until Sunday, 10 May 2026, at 9:00.
Adalah Attorneys Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, representing the two activists, argued during the hearing that the allegations against them are baseless and there are no legal grounds for their continued detention. Adalah clarifies that no formal charges have been filed, and their detention is for purposes of ongoing interrogation. During an earlier hearing, the Israeli state attorney 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 organization, and the transfer of property for a terrorist organization.
The defense team emphasized that there is no connection between providing aid to a civilian population via a humanitarian flotilla and any “terrorist organization.” Adalah further argued that because the activists were abducted over 1,000 kilometers away from Gaza and are not Israeli citizens, Israeli domestic law does not apply to them. Both activists remain in total isolation, subjected to 24/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they are moved, including during medical examinations. Both activists are continuing their hunger strike, consuming only water from the early morning of Thursday, 30 April in protest of their abduction and inhumane treatment.
Despite these arguments, Magistrates’ Court Judge Yaniv Ben-Haroush approved the state’s request for the extension, in part based on secret evidence that neither the activists nor their lawyers were permitted to review. Crucially, the court granted the full six-day extension requested by the state without imposing any limitations or judicial constraints on the interrogation period.
Adalah’s Response: “The court’s decision to extend the detention of humanitarian activists abducted in international waters amounts to judicial validation of the state’s lawlessness. Adalah will immediately appeal to the District Court to challenge this decision and to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Thiago and Saif.”
4 May 2026
Adalah lawyers visit detained GSF activists Thiago and Saif; reports of death threats and threats of prolonged imprisonment. Both activists have entered their sixth day of hunger strike and are detained in isolation
Following a visit just concluded at the Shikma detention facility by Adalah Attorneys Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, Adalah is sounding the alarm over the psychological abuse and ill-treatment of Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) activists Thiago Ávila and Saif Abu Keshek. Both activists have entered their sixth day of a hunger strike (drinking water only) in protest of their unlawful abduction by the Israeli navy in international waters while engaging in a humanitarian mission to challenge the unlawful blockade on Gaza.
Thiago Ávila reported being subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours. Interrogators have explicitly threatened him, stating he would either be “killed” or “spend 100 years in jail.” Both activists are being held in total isolation. Their cells are kept under constant high-intensity lighting 24 hours a day, a known Israeli Prison Service (IPS) practice specifically designed to induce sleep deprivation and sensory disorientation. Additionally, Thiago reported being held in extremely cold temperatures. They are kept blindfolded at all times whenever they are moved outside their cells, including during medical examinations. Adalah emphasizes that blindfolding a patient during a doctor’s visit is a gross violation of medical ethical standards.
Much of the interrogation has focused on the Global Sumud Flotilla , a peaceful humanitarian mission, which confirms that the detention is an attempt to criminalize humanitarian aid and solidarity.
Adalah lawyers are waiting to understand whether the state will file an extension-of-detention request tomorrow. Adalah continues to demand their immediate, unconditional release and an end to these illegal proceedings.
03 May 2026
Israeli Court Extends Detention of Abducted Flotilla Activist Leaders Thiago de Avila and Saif Abukeshek
The Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court has today extended the detention of Global Sumud Flotilla activists Thiago de Avila and Saif Abukeshek for an additional two days, until Tuesday, 5 May 2026. This decision follows their unlawful abduction by the Israeli navy in international waters on 30 April.
During the hearing, the Israeli state attorney requested a four-day extension of the activists’ detention, presenting a list of suspected offenses including assisting the enemy during wartime, contact with a foreign agent, membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization, and the transfer of property for a terrorist organization.
Adalah attorneys Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma argued before the court that the entire legal process is fundamentally flawed and illegal. They challenged the state’s jurisdiction, asserting that there is no legal basis for the extraterritorial application of these offenses to the actions of foreign nationals in international waters. They maintained that the state's use of these severe security-related suspicions is a retaliatory measure against humanitarian activist leaders and demanded their immediate and unconditional release. Adalah further highlighted that not only were Mr. de Avila and Mr. Abukeshek seized in international waters without legal authority, but they have also provided testimony of severe physical abuse amounting to torture, including being beaten and held in isolation and blindfolded for days at sea.
Adalah emphasizes that no formal charges have been filed against either activist; they remain in the pre-indictment stage under ongoing interrogation. Both Mr. de Avila and Mr. Abukeshek will be transferred back to the Shikma detention facility in Israel (Ashkelon), where they remain in isolation. Both activists are continuing their hunger strike in protest of their unlawful detention and ill-treatment.
2 May 2026
Adalah lawyers have just concluded a visit to Shikma Prison, where they met with Global Sumud Flotilla activists Thiago de Avila and Saif Abukeshek for the first time since their abduction by the Israeli navy in the early morning on Thursday, 30 April in international waters near Crete. The harrowing testimonies provided by both activists reveal physical violence and being held for prolonged periods in stress positions by Israeli military forces during the past two days they have spent at sea. Both activists arrived this morning at the Shikma detention center in Ashkelon after more than two days in naval custody.
Thiago de Avila reported being subjected to extreme brutality by the Israeli military during the seizure of the vessels. He was dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice. He currently has visible bruises on his face, including around his left eye, and he reports restricted movement and intense pain in his hand. From the moment he was taken by the Israeli military until his transfer to the Israel Prison Service more than two days later, he was kept in isolation and blindfolded. He is now being held in a windowless cell. Thiago reported being interrogated by the Shabak intelligence agency (ISA) and stated that he was told he would later be interrogated by the Mossad on suspicions of “affiliation with a terrorist organization.” Although Adalah’s lawyers demanded information on the accusations, the Israeli authorities have refused to provide it.
Saif Abukeshek reported being kept hand-tied and blindfolded, and being forced to lie face-down on the floor from the moment of his seizure until this morning, resulting in bruising to his face and hands. After arriving at the Shikma detention center, he reported being told he is under interrogation by the Shabak on suspicions of “affiliation with a terrorist organization”.
Both Thiago and Saif have declared a hunger strike, though they are continuing to drink water.
The two activists are scheduled to be brought to the Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, Sunday, 3 May 2026, at 9:30 AM for a hearing to extend their detention. Adalah maintains that the treatment of the two activists, including the use of isolation, prolonged blindfolding, and physical beatings, constitutes a grave violation of international law. Adalah further argues that any interrogation of the activists is unlawful and that they must be released immediately.
Photos by Moatasem Zedan/Adalah
