This statement was originally released on Adalah’s WhatsApp channel.
Over the past 24 hours, Adalah attorneys met with 331 participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla at Ashdod Port, where they are facing hearings before Israeli immigration authorities. Several participants were processed without Adalah’s legal consultation, as our lawyers were initially denied access to them. This process followed the flotilla’s forcible towing after unlawful interceptions in international waters, where dozens of ships were stopped on their mission to break the unlawful siege of Gaza amidst ongoing genocide, mass atrocities, and famine.
The flotilla participants are in relatively stable condition, and Adalah continues to monitor their situation closely.
Upon their kidnapping from international waters, participants were forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted free Palestine. During the lawyers’ visits, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived in what was clearly intended as an act of humiliation and intimidation. The flotilla participants were filmed, and exploited in a degrading display of control. This display of humiliation took place alongside Israeli officials’ ongoing smear campaign, which falsely branded flotilla members as “terrorists” in an effort to discredit their peaceful mission and legitimize repressive tactics used against them.
The entire process is unlawful from start to finish. The interception itself violated international law, amounting to abduction in international waters. Israel’s attempt to justify these actions through enforcement of its blockade cannot stand: the blockade itself is illegal, constitutes collective punishment, and serves as a central tool of the ongoing genocide, including the deliberate use of starvation as a method of warfare.
Participants’ rights were systematically violated throughout this process. In addition to being denied access to water, bathroom, and medications, they were denied access to lawyers, which violated their basic rights to due process, fair trial, and legal representation. Yesterday, while the whereabouts of the flotilla volunteers were unknown, the lawyers were left waiting for about 9 hours outside the Ashdod Port, and were not notified when Israeli immigration authorities began processing and conducting hearings, learning about these illegal processes only after the detainees called them directly.
Despite repeated denials of entry by Israeli police, Adalah lawyers eventually managed to access the port and provide consultations to the 331 participants. Several participants reported being subjected to aggression, threats, and harassment, including being woken violently whenever they tried to sleep.
The Authorities then transferred participants from Ashdod to Ktzi'ot Prison in the Naqab (Negev) and initiated tribunal hearings without informing the legal team, proceeding entirely without legal representation. Adalah Lawyers are now present in tribunal hearings, where the detention orders are currently being reviewed.
Adalah is pursuing legal measures to guarantee that every single participant is accounted for, while continuing prison visits. Adalah also calls for their immediate release from unlawful detention, and the retrieval of their personal belongings and humanitarian aid supplies.
Follow Adalah’s WhatsApp channel for updates:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6ReXG8PgsLxkVY643j
📥 Download press release (in English & French)
