Arundhati Roy, Spivak, other global signatories demand release of Shahidul Alam and Gaza flotilla detainees
The statement also accused Israel of acting with total impunity, ignoring the International Court of Justice’s binding orders, defying international maritime law, and disregarding global calls for an end to the siege and genocide in Gaza
A group of prominent international writers, scholars, and activists have called for the immediate release of Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam, along with over 150 other humanitarians detained aboard 'Conscience' and 'Thousand Madleens' boats, as well as thousands of Palestinians being held without trial in Israeli prisons.
In a statement issued today (9 October), friends and family of Shahidul Alam, including New Delhi-based writer Arundhati Roy, New York-based scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Cape Town-based playwright Mike van Graan, and Kathmandu-based journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, among dozens of others, demanded their "immediate and unconditional release".
"We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam, along with all 91 other media and medical professionals on board the 'Conscience' who have been illegally kidnapped on international waters by the genocidal and apartheid state of Israel, along with the thousands of Palestinians who are being held in Israeli prisons without trial," the statement read.
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It added that 'Conscience' was among the latest ships of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to sail across the Mediterranean Sea, carrying journalists and medics on a mission to break Israel's 18-year-long blockade of Gaza.
"For nearly two years, the illegal Israeli occupation has blocked international journalists from entering Gaza, creating one of the most dangerous press blackouts in modern history," the organisers of 'Thousand Madleens' to Gaza and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a joint statement.
"During this time, hundreds of Palestinian journalists have been deliberately targeted and assassinated, while many more have been imprisoned or silenced. This boat is our challenge to that silence."
David Heap, of the Canadian Boat to Gaza and a member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition Steering Committee, condemned the detention of volunteers.
"Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard these ships," he said.
"This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ's binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. Our volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalised for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade. Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately."
The statement also accused Israel of acting with total impunity, ignoring the International Court of Justice's binding orders, defying international maritime law, and disregarding global calls for an end to the siege and genocide in Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens to Gaza listed five core demands:
- An end to Israel's illegal and deadly blockade of Gaza;
- An end to Israel's genocide of Gaza;
- The immediate release of all abducted volunteers;
- The delivery of humanitarian aid directly to Palestinians, independent of Israeli control;
- Full accountability for the military assaults on the flotilla boats.
According to organisers, some volunteers suffered violence during the "illegal interception" and are reportedly being transferred to Israel's Ketziot Prison.
The statement was signed by several prominent figures.
