El Ciudadano
Original article: “Liberación no es libertad”: Saif y Thiago vuelven a casa, pero flotilla denuncia torturas y exige sanciones contra Israel
«Liberation Does Not Equal Freedom»: Saif and Thiago Return Home Amid Torture Allegations and Calls for Sanctions Against Israel
«Liberation does not equal freedom.» Under this powerful premise, the Global Sumud Flotilla stated that although activists Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila have been freed and returned home after being illegally detained for ten days by Israeli forces, they continue to firmly denounce the torture and systematic abuses that the Zionist regime inflicts daily on thousands of Palestinians.
In a public statement, the humanitarian mission confirmed that Saif has arrived in Barcelona via Athens and has reunited with his wife and children, while Thiago crossed the Taba border and is now with his family in Brazil.
Following widespread mobilizations, protests, and international public pressure, both activists and human rights defenders were released after being kidnapped by Israel during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The international humanitarian convoy set sail on April 12, 2026, from the Moll de la Fusta port in Barcelona, bound for Gaza, with stops in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. However, a week later, Israel attacked 23 flotilla vessels less than 80 nautical miles west of the Greek island of Crete, during which 181 civilians were transferred to the Israeli ship Nahshon and later released, except for Ávila and Saif Abukeshek, who were held by Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime for 10 days after being accused of having ties to the Hamas movement, which both vehemently denied.
«Liberation Does Not Equal Freedom»
The flotilla, which currently has 57 boats in Marmaris (Turkey) awaiting new strategic directives, stated that the release of the activists is proof that «sustained international and political pressure works.» However, it warned that the cases of Saif and Thiago are not isolated incidents but rather the visible tip of a much larger reality.
«Liberation does not equal freedom,» the organization stated in its communiqué, reminding that more than 9,500 men, women, and children Palestinians remain illegally detained in Israeli prisons, subjected to the same cycle of torture, humiliation, and impunity.
Among the emblematic cases, the flotilla highlighted that of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was captured on December 27, 2024. According to recently released witnesses, Abu Safiya is almost unrecognizable: in a state of shock, unable to speak normally, chained for prolonged periods, stripped during searches, beaten, and threatened with attack dogs.
They also mentioned the historic leader Marwan Barghouti, illegally detained for 24 years, and demanded the release of Tunisian comrades still in captivity.
«This struggle will not end with their liberation. It ends when the system that produced them is completely dismantled,» they declared in the communiqué.
Alongside the release, the flotilla held a legal symposium at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University (Turkey) titled «Civil Resistance Against Genocide,» where academics and jurists discussed state responsibility and potential proceedings before the International Criminal Court.
The return of Saif and Thiago, far from closing the legal case, complicates it further. The organization demands immediate sanctions against Israel for the unlawful kidnapping, genocide in Gaza, and ongoing violations of international law, pointing fingers at the European Union and Greece for their «silence and complicity.»
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