World

Rights group says Gaza flotilla activists facing abuse in Israeli jail

Two activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla who were kidnapped by Israeli forces over international waters have been detained and are facing psychological abuse, death threats and poor conditions in Israeli prison, a rights group representing them said on Monday.

One of the activists, Brazilian national Thiago Avila, has reported being “subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours” where “interrogators have explicitly threatened him, stating that he would either be ‘killed’ or ‘spend 100 years in jail’,” rights group Adalah said in a statement after its attorneys visited both in their detention.

An Israeli court will decide on Tuesday if the imprisonment of Avila and Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek be extended further.

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila gestures upon his arrival at a court in Ashkelon on 3 May 2026 (Ilia Yefimovich/AFP)