Under torture and without formal charges, Israel extends the illegal detention of activists Thiago and Saif by six days

Palestinian legal defense organization Adalaf asserted that the court’s decision “amounts to a validation of the state’s illegality” and announced an immediate appeal to the District Court demanding the unconditional release of the activists.

May 5, 2026

In yet another affront to international law, the Israeli court decided on Monday, 4 May to extend the detention of humanitarian activists Thiago Ávila, from Brazil, and Saif AbuKeshek, members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, for six more days. The decision was made by the Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court, which granted the Israeli government’s request to keep them in custody until next Sunday (10 May) at 9 a.m., without presenting any formal charges against either of them.

Thiago and Saif were abducted last week in international waters by Israeli forces, more than a thousand kilometers from Gaza, while sailing on a humanitarian mission in support of the Palestinian people. Of the 180 activists abducted, most were released after 48 hours, but Thiago and Saif remain in detention, subjected to interrogation and physical and psychological torture.

Lawyers from the human rights organization Adalah, Hadeel Abu Salih and Lubna Tuma, argued that there is no legal basis for continuing their detention and emphasized that Israeli law itself cannot be applied to the case, since both were captured outside the territory under Israeli jurisdiction and are not Israeli citizens.

Despite this, Judge Yaniv Ben-Haroush authorized the continued detention based, in part, on “secret evidence” that neither the activists nor the defense were allowed to see. This is a typical practice of military courts and constitutes a direct violation of the right to a fair trial and to a legitimate defense.

Torture and Threats

The situation is made even more serious by the inhumane conditions imposed on the activists. According to the defense, Thiago and Saif are in total isolation, under intense lighting 24 hours a day inside their cells, which is intended to deprive the activists of sleep. Whenever they are transferred, even for medical examinations, they remain blindfolded; threats from the Zionist army against their families have also been reported.

This is a regime of physical and psychological torture designed to break the prisoners’ resistance and cause extreme exhaustion during interrogation. Since the early morning of April 30, both have been on a hunger strike, consuming only water, in protest against their abduction and the mistreatment to which they have been subjected.

In a statement, the organization Adalaf asserted that the court’s decision “amounts to a validation of the state’s illegality” and announced an immediate appeal to the District Court demanding the unconditional release of the activists.

As the activists’ defense team denounces, the “Israeli judicial system does not act as a guarantor of rights, but rather as part of the legitimization of the policy of persecution against any initiative of international solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Protests condemn the Zionist action and demand the activists’ freedom

The prolonged imprisonment of Thiago and Saif is already sparking outrage and mobilizations. Protests have taken place in the Spanish State and Italy, demanding the immediate release of the two detainees and denouncing Israel’s attempt to intimidate the international resistance.

In Brazil, given the gravity of the case, there is also growing pressure on the Lula administration to act with the utmost firmness to ensure Thiago Ávila’s protection and to press for his immediate release.

The Brazilian government cannot avoid denouncing the conditions of torture and the illegality of the detentions, and it must sever commercial and military ties with Israel. Our country cannot be an accomplice to a racist and genocidal regime.

The continued illegal detention of Thiago and Saif makes it clear that this is not a judicial process, but a political operation aimed at intimidating all those who dare to confront the genocidal siege that Israel imposes on Gaza.

Therefore, it is urgent to expand the mobilization in the streets, strengthen international pressure, and demand that the Lula government take concrete and immediate action to bring Thiago back and guarantee the freedom of both activists.