UN demands Israel release two Gaza flotilla activists, accused of ties to sanctioned group

The United Nations calls on Israel to immediately release two activists detained on a Gaza-bound flotilla, and demands an investigation into “disturbing accounts” that they’ve been severely mistreated.

“Israel must immediately and unconditionally release Global Sumud Flotilla members Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, who were detained in international waters and brought to Israel where they continue to be held without charge,” UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan says in a statement.

“It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” he continues.

Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Avila, a Brazilian national, were among 170 activists taking part in the flotilla, which Israel intercepted last week. With the exception of Avila and Abu Keshek, all the activists were freed on Friday in Greece.

Israel’s foreign ministry says both individuals were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group Washington says is “clandestinely controlled by Hamas,” referring to the Palestinian terror group. The PCPA is sanctioned by Israel and the US.

Representatives for Avila and Abu Keshek have accused Israeli authorities of abusing the two men, who have been on hunger strike for the past six days.

Kheetan decries the “disturbing accounts of severe mistreatment,” calling for an investigation and insisting “those responsible must be brought to justice.”

“We call for an end to Israel’s use of arbitrary detention and of broadly and vaguely defined terrorism legislation, inconsistent with international human rights law,” he says.