Istanbul—Seven Libyan citizens kidnapped by Israel in the international waters have arrived in Istanbul on Saturday. They were heading to Gaza on their boat taking part with the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) in an attempt to break the inhumane blockade imposed on the Palestinian people for many months.
The flotilla was carrying food and medicine and consisted about 50 civilian boats including the libyans’ boat named Omar Al-Mukhtar. The Israeli regime detained about 500 activists on these vessels including parliamentarians, doctors, peace activists, artists along with Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg.
The Libyans were among 137 deportees of several countries including the US, Morocco and Switzerland.
The Libyan consul in Istanbul said those who were released include Muhammad al-Sharif Issa, Salah Abdel-Ati al-Azoumi, Omar Suleiman al-Hassi, Nabil Fathi al-Sukni, Malik Hassan al-Qatit, Hussein Ramadan Baraka, and Abdul-Razzaq al-Hanish. Four more Libyans will be heading to Istanbul after being released later from Israeli prisons.
In a statement posted to its website on Sunday, GSF said activists “were kidnapped and brought to Israel against their will, along with their ships, which were unlawfully sized and brought to Israel.”
“From the moment of interception, all activists were held incommunicado, with communication systems having been jammed, some of them subjected to degrading treatment, and water cannons. In short, the activists’ humanitarian mission was violently crushed,” GSF added.