Thiago Ávila arrives in Brazil after illegal arrest in Israel

After ten days illegally imprisoned in Israel, Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila arrives in Brazil this Monday (11). Arrival at Guarulhos International Airport, in São Paulo, is scheduled for 4:30 pm, with a connection to Brasília, where the activist should land at 11 pm. The information was confirmed through Thiago’s own social networks.

Ávila was released by Israel and passed through Cairo, Egypt, before embarking for Brazil. He was deported along with Spanish-Palestinian activist Saif Abukeshek, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Upon landing in Barcelona, ​​this Sunday, Saif gave an interview to the press and declared that his biggest concern is the Palestinians held in Israeli detention centers.

“We are not heroes, we want people to talk about Palestine,” he said. “The biggest concern we have is that of thousands and thousands of Palestinian prisoners who are left behind, who are left defenseless, tortured, violated, on an ongoing basis. You could hear the screams every day based on the torture they were receiving from Israeli agents. Israel violates human rights at any time, in any space. We, civil society, are not acting because the system is failing. We are acting because the system is designed to do what it is doing, oppress people, take away rights and allow some countries to can control the destinies of others”, he continued.

Flotilla intercepted in international waters

Thiago and Saif participated in the Global Sumud Flotilla, a maritime initiative of civil society organizations with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007. The two were arrested when Israeli forces boarded one of the flotilla’s vessels on the high seas, in international waters, which was transporting food and survival items intended for the population of Gaza.

While Thiago and Saif were taken to Israel for interrogation, the more than 100 other activists on board around 20 boats were taken to the Greek island of Crete, in Greece, where they were eventually released without further embarrassment.

Isolation and mistreatment

According to the Legal Center for the Rights of Arab Minorities in Israel, the NGO Adalah, the two remained in total isolation and were subjected to ill-treatment throughout their detention. The organization filed a legal appeal against the “arbitrary” arrest, but an Israeli court rejected the request last Wednesday.

“From their abduction in international waters to their illegal detention in complete isolation and the ill-treatment to which they were subjected, the actions of the Israeli authorities were a punitive attack against a purely civilian mission. The use of detention and interrogation against activists and human rights defenders is an unacceptable attempt to suppress global solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza”, says the NGO Adalah, in an official statement.

International pressure and Brazil’s reaction

The arrest provoked an immediate reaction on different fronts. President Lula publicly criticized the extension of the detention of the Brazilian activist considering it “an unjustifiable action by the Israeli government”. Brazil, Spain and the UN demanded security guarantees and the immediate release of the two. Even so, Israel maintained the detention, with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcing on social media that “Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila, from the ‘provocation flotilla’, were deported after investigation” — and reiterating that Israel “will not allow any violation” of the blockade on Gaza.

Humanitarian mission and history of repression

The Sumud Global Flotilla had left France, Spain and Italy with humanitarian cargo, defying the siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian enclave. It was not the first attempt: the previous year, the flotilla was also intercepted by Israeli forces, on that occasion near the coasts of Egypt and Gaza.

In October last year, the Israeli military had already detained more than 450 participants in another flotilla action, including Ávila himself and Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Currently, according to organizers, 57 vessels remain in Türkiye, where participants are meeting to define the next steps of the mission.

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with agencies