Saif Abukeshek And Thiago Ávila Released: A Victory For International Mobilization And A Reminder Of Who Remains Behind

BARCELONA/MARMARIS – The Global Sumud Flotilla confirms that Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila have been released from illegal israeli detention after having been kidnapped and endured ten days of abuse and torture. Saif traveled through Athens and arrived in Barcelona earlier this afternoon, reuniting with his wife and children. Thiago has crossed the Taba border and will be home in Brazil with his wife and child by Monday afternoon. 

This is what mobilization looks like. 

Their release is proof that sustained international and political pressure works. We celebrate it as such. And we name clearly what it does not change. 

Release is not freedom. 

Saif and Thiago return home while 9,500 Palestinian men, women, and children remain illegally detained in israeli regime prisons, subjected to the same system of unlawful detention, torture, and impunity our comrades experienced for ten days and that Palestinians have endured for decades. 

That system has a face. 

Three recently released Palestinian detainees have described the condition of Dr. Hussam Abu Safi ya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who has been held by israel since 27 December 2024. They describe a man barely recognizable: in shock, unable to speak properly, his screams audible during abuse. Denied medical care. Subjected to prolonged shackling, strip searches, beatings, and attack dogs. This is the reality for more than 9,500 Palestinian people today, many with no release in sight. 

Similarly, reports of ongoing torture and abuse against Marwan Barghouti have recently emerged. Marwan has been illegally detained for 24 years by the israeli regime and continues to be subjected to their apartheid, unjust system of abuse and detention. 

We also continue to demand the release of our Tunisian comrades. 

This struggle does not end with releases. It ends when the system that produced them is fully dismantled. 

The mission continues. 

57 Global Sumud Flotilla vessels remain in Marmaris, Türkiye, with participants and organizers convening to discuss the next steps and strategy forward. Four New Zealanders continue to sail with them, including Samuel Leason, Hāhona Ormsby, Mousa Taher, and Julien Blondel. 

As the israeli regime continues to try to break the will of the Palestinian people and all who stand with them, today’s news and israel’s escalation of violence and impunity only strengthens their resolve. 

This release also comes as our legal symposium "Civil Resistance Against Genocide: Global Sumud Flotilla and International Law" was held today at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, where legal scholars and practitioners examined state responsibility and accountability mechanisms, including potential ICC proceedings. The release of our comrades does not close the legal file. It adds to it. 

We continue to demand that the EU and Greece answer for their silence and complicity, and we call for immediate sanctions against israel for this illegal abduction, its genocide, and its continuous violations of international and human rights laws. 

Free Palestine.

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