The Turkish Ministry of Justice requested, this Friday (21), that Interpol red alerts be issued against the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli Afex Moskovitch, defendants in Istanbul for genocide. The announcement was made by Minister Akin Gürlek and responds to a request from the Sumud Global Flotilla.
“As part of the judicial process regarding the attack in international waters against Flotilla activists and, in accordance with the arrest warrants issued on July 14, 2026 against Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moscovitch for genocide, the Ministry of Justice requested the Ministry of the Interior to issue the red alert aimed at their international arrest”, declared the minister.
The mechanism works as a request for police authorities in other countries to locate and provisionally detain Netanyahu and Moscovitch until possible extradition. This is not, therefore, a formal request for arrest. Now, it is up to Interpol to decide on the matter. Each member country can decide whether or not to comply with the alert.
The request was supported by an arrest warrant already issued by an Istanbul criminal court, which is trying Netanyahu and 34 other defendants in absentia. According to the lawsuit, the defendants are responsible for crimes against humanity, genocide, qualified deprivation of liberty, torture, intentional bodily harm, destruction of property, qualified looting and misappropriation of transport vehicles.
“We in no way accept the idea that the Netanyahu government, which conducts a policy of genocide in Gaza, is untouchable and exempt from accountability. We will decisively use all the possibilities of national and international law”, said Gürlek.
The Sumud Global Flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli Navy in October 2025, in international waters, as it approached the coast of the Gaza Strip. More than 400 activists, who were on 40 boats, were forcibly taken to Israel and detained in Ktziot prison, in the Negev desert, before being deported. Among them were 15 Brazilians: federal deputy Luizianne Lins (PT-CE), councilor Mariana Conti (Psol-Campinas) and activist and candidate for federal deputy Thiago Ávila. At the time, Itamaraty condemned what it called “illegal interception and arbitrary detention”.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
