JERUSALEM: Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who have been detained in an Israeli prison are facing psychological abuse, death threats, and poor detention conditions, a rights group representing them said Monday.
On Sunday, an Israeli court extended by two days the detention of Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, who were brought to Israel for questioning last week.
The pair were among dozens of activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces off the coast of Greece early on Thursday.
“Thiago Avila reported being subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours. Interrogators have explicitly threatened him, stating he would either be ‘killed’ or ‘spend 100 years in jail,’” rights group Adalah, whose attorneys visited both activists in their detention Monday, said in a statement.
Adalah said it was awaiting a decision on whether the state would seek another extension of their detention on Tuesday.
Both Abu Keshek and Avila are held in total isolation, with “high-intensity lighting” on at all times in their cells, Adalah said, adding that Avila was being held in “extremely cold temperatures.”
“They are kept blindfolded at all times whenever they are moved outside their cells, including during medical examinations,” it added.
Adalah said the activists were continuing a hunger strike that entered its sixth day on Monday.
During the hearing in a court in the city of Ashkelon on Sunday, Adalah said the state attorney had presented a list of offenses the pair were accused of, including “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.”
But Adalah’s lawyers challenged the state’s jurisdiction, arguing against the “unlawful abduction” of the two activists in international waters.
Its lawyers told the court Avila and Abu Keshek had testified to “severe physical abuse amounting to torture, including being beaten and held in isolation and blindfolded for days at sea.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected claims that the men were subjected to physical violence.
“Contrary to the false and baseless claims prepared in advance, at no point were Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Ávila subjected to torture,” ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on Sunday.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the pair were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, or PCPA — a group accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Hamas.
It said Abu Keshek was a leading PCPA member, and that Avila was also linked to the group and “suspected of illegal activity.”
The Global Sumud Flotilla’s first voyage last year aimed to bring humanitarian supplies to Gaza and drew worldwide attention before being intercepted by Israeli forces off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
Throughout the Gaza war, there have been shortages of critical supplies in the Palestinian territory, with Israel at times cutting off aid entirely.
