ISTANBUL, May 4 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The Rome Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday that an investigation had been opened into the detention of two activists during Israel's interception of the Gaza aid flotilla in international waters off Greece, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
The probe involves an operation carried out on the night of April 29 off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, where Israeli forces intercepted multiple boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla attempting to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Israeli authorities said 175 activists were removed from the vessels. Most were later released, including 24 Italian nationals.
However, two activists, Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila, were arrested and taken to the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Prosecutors launched the inquiry after receiving three formal complaints, including two related to Avila and Abu Keshek, who were reportedly taken from Italian-flagged vessels and remain in detention.
The case also targets unidentified individuals on suspicion of kidnapping, robbery, and causing damage with the risk of shipwreck, according to the report.
Investigators are expected to submit a request for international judicial cooperation, known as a letter rogatory, to Israeli authorities as part of the inquiry.
Rome prosecutors are already examining a separate case linked to last year’s Global Sumud Flotilla, involving alleged offenses including torture.
The Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted near Crete, 600 nautical miles from its destination of the blockaded-besieged enclave of Gaza.
The flotilla's first ships, carrying humanitarian aid, left Barcelona on April 12, while the main fleet set sail from the Italian island of Sicily on April 26, aiming to break Israel's years-long blockade of Gaza.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving the territory’s 2.4 million people on the verge of starvation.
It launched a brutal two-year offensive on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 people, injuring over 172,000, and causing massive destruction across the besieged territory.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
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