Israel seeks to keep 2 activists seized aboard Gaza flotilla in custody, says rights group

Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation make an appearance in court, according to an Israeli rights group.

Israel said Friday that all 175 activists detained when the Navy intercepted the flotilla were freed in Greece except for the two activists in question — Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avilo.

“The state asked to extend their detention by four days,” Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at the rights group Adalah, tells AFP.

Yesterday, Adalah said its lawyers had met the two detained activists at Shikma Prison in Ashkelon.

Avila told the lawyers he had been “subjected to extreme brutality” when the vessels were seized, adding that he was “dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely that he passed out twice.”

Adalah says that since arriving in Israel, Avila said he had been “kept in isolation and blindfolded.”

Abu Keshek was also “hand-tied and blindfolded… and forced to lie face-down on the floor from the moment of his seizure” until reaching Israel, the group says.

The Foreign Ministry says the two activists are affiliated with an organization that has been sanctioned by the US Treasury.

That group — the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) — has been accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Hamas.

Abu Keshek is a leading member of the PCPA, and Avila is also linked to the organization and “suspected of illegal activity,” the Foreign Ministry says.

Spain has condemned the detention of Avila and rejected the Israeli accusation against him.