A hundred people have gathered this Saturday afternoon in front of the European Commission headquarters in Barcelona.
The protest takes place on Paseo de Gràcia and seeks to pressure for the release of two members of the Global Sumud Flotilla recently detained. The demonstrators demand the immediate freedom of the activists, who have been on a hunger strike for days inside an Israeli penitentiary center.
Relatives and companions denounce that both have suffered torture and mistreatment during their stay in prison. Sally Isa, wife of the Catalan-Palestinian activist Saif Abukeshek, has clarified that her husband did not intend to enter Palestine. As she explained, he was on board the flotilla solely as an international observer to document the situation. Isa has described the current moment as very difficult for her and her three children. She has publicly called for her husband's freedom and has urged the European Union to intervene directly to protect him. Pablo Castilla, spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla in Catalonia, has denounced the arrests of Abukeshek and the Brazilian Thiago Ávila.
Castilla affirms that both are on a hunger strike and assures that they have been subjected to torture by the Israeli authorities. The spokesperson indicated that Abukeshek has not received any consular assistance since his detention. This lack of official support contrasts with the urgency expressed by family members and the organization representing him. Castilla has harshly criticized the European Union for what he calls absolute complicity with Israel's actions last Thursday. He considers that European institutions are not fulfilling their duty of protection towards the affected citizens.
He assured that Frontex was a witness and accomplice to the kidnapping during the transfer from international waters to Crete. This maritime journey was the scene where the activists were intercepted and taken to Greek territory. The spokesperson has requested that the governments of Spain and Sweden, the country of which Abukeshek is a national, apply urgent diplomatic measures.
The objective is to achieve their safe release, guaranteeing the physical integrity of the detainees. Castilla has declared that any attack against Palestine or against pro-Palestinian activists is a direct attack against the citizens of Catalonia. He considers that these actions violate all fundamental rights and require a firm response.
The majority of the activists remain detained in Crete while they continue with their planned route soon. The situation remains tense as families await concrete answers from European and state institutions.