Spain demands release of Spanish-Palestinian activist held by Israel

MADRID: Spain’s foreign ministry called for the “immediate release” of a Spanish-Palestinian activist after Israeli court on Sunday extended his detention by two days.

“The government of Spain demands his immediate release,” the ministry said in a comment sent to AFP, adding that the Spanish consul in Tel Aviv accompanied Saif Abu Keshek, who is being “illegally detained”, to the hearing. A rights group at the hearing said the court extended the detention of Keshek and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila for two days.

Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation appeared before an Israeli court on Sunday, a rights group defending them told AFP.

The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory.

They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday, with Israel saying it had removed some 175 activists — two of whom were taken to Israel for questioning.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in Ashkelon on Sunday.

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

On Saturday, 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”.

Since arriving in Israel, he said he had been “kept in isolation and blindfolded,” according to Adalah.

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 said.