On Saturday May 2, community members gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa to “defend the Global Sumud Flotilla and continue the global pressure to break the illegal siege on Gaza.”
They later marched through the downtown area on Wellington Street.
On the night of April 29-30, Israel intercepted 22 boats from the Flotilla in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea and detained nearly 180 people from multiple countries, including two Canadians.
The Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, denounced this raid against the Flotilla by the Israeli military.
The Associated Press has further reported that Israeli authorities had taken two leaders of the Flotilla – Spanish citizen Saif Abukeshek and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila – to Israel for questioning. They are being held in Shikma Prison in Israel.
The Haifa, Israel-based human rights organization and legal centre Adalah visited the two men in prison on Saturday May 2 and stated that 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”, and that “Avila reported being subjected to extreme brutality by the Israeli military during the seizure of the vessels [including being] dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice”.
In a joint statement, the Governments of Spain and Brazil said: “This flagrantly illegal action by the Israeli authorities outside their jurisdiction constitutes a violation of international law, which may be brought before international courts, and may constitute a criminal offence in our respective national jurisdictions.”
The statement adds: “The Governments of Spain and Brazil demand that the Government of Israel ensure the immediate return of their citizens with full guarantees of safety, and that immediate consular access be granted for their assistance and protection”
The Canadian Press notes the Canadians detained were Marie Tota, a registered nurse from Ontario, and Umir Tiar, a student from Quebec City. A third Canadian, Luiza Noura, was rescued by Greenpeace and Spanish NGO Open Arms after her boat was destroyed and she was left adrift in the sea.
Tota and Tiar have been released in Greece.
Tota says she was subjected to physical and psychological abuse by the Israeli military “for the so-called crime of attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza”, while Tiar says “some people were beaten, shot at by rubber bullets, some people were dragged on the floor by their arms and by their neck.”
Video stills: Marie Tota and Umir Tiar.
While 22 boats were intercepted on April 29-30, there are still 48 boats continuing with the intention of delivering aid to Gaza. One of those boats is the Canadian boat Perseverance that departed from Sicily on Sunday May 3.
PBI-Canada is following the Perseverance and her crew of human rights defenders via the Global Sumud Flotilla tracker here.
Photo: The Canadian crew of the Perseverance is now en route to Gaza.
