• Claims detainees were subjected to long interrogations, isolation, blindfolding, harsh lighting, and poor conditions
• Italian prosecutors open probe into ‘unlawful’ detention
JERUSALEM: Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who have been detained in Israeli prison are facing psychological abuse, death threats and poor detention conditions, a rights group representing them said Monday.
On Sunday, an Israeli court extended by two days the detention of Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, who were brought to Israel for questioning last week.
The pair were among dozens of activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces off the coast of Greece early on Thursday.
“Thiago Avila 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’,” rights group Adalah, whose attorneys visited both activists in their detention Monday, said in statement.
Adalah said it was awaiting a decision on whether the state would seek another extension of their detention on Tuesday.
Both Abu Keshek and Avila are held in total isolation, with “high-intensity lighting” on at all times in their cells, Adalah said, adding that Avila was being held in “extremely cold temperatures”.
“They are kept blindfolded at all times whenever they are moved outside their cells, including during medical examinations”, it added.
Adalah said the activists were continuing a hunger strike that entered its sixth day on Monday.
During the hearing in a court in the city of Ashkelon on Sunday, Adalah said the state attorney had presented a list of offences the pair were accused of, including “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation”. But Adalah’s lawyers challenged the state’s jurisdiction, arguing against the “unlawful abduction” of the two activists in international waters.
Its lawyers told the court Avila and Abu Keshek had testified to “severe physical abuse amounting to torture, including being beaten and held in isolation and blindfolded for days at sea”.
Israel’s foreign ministry rejected claims that the men were subjected to physical violence.
Meanwhile, Italian prosecutors have opened an unlawful detention investigation following a raid by Israeli forces on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, Italian media reported on Monday.
The probe was opened following complaints received over the detention last week of Spanish citizen Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, who were on an Italian-flagged vessel.
The two were on a flotilla of more than 50 vessels that left France, Spain and Italy aiming to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and bring supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory.
Avila and Abu Keshek were taken to Israel for questioning, while the other activists were released. The Israeli operation was widely criticised, particularly by Italy and Spain. The Rome prosecutor’s office opened a similar investigation following a previous attempt by a flotilla to reach Gaza.
Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2026
