Libyan judicial authorities have extended the detention of ten activists from the Global Sumud Land Convoy nearly ten days after their arrest near Sirte by forces affiliated with eastern Libyan authorities under Khalifa Haftar.
The Maghreb Sumud Organization, which was coordinating the movement on the ground, said the activists appeared Tuesday before the public prosecutor in Benghazi for the first time since their detention. Footage released on social media showed the activists as they were being escorted into the prosecutor’s office carrying personal belongings and without visible restraints, before being informed that their pre-trial detention had been extended pending a further hearing.
“We reiterate our categorical rejection of this detention, which lacks any legal basis, and we demand their immediate and unconditional release,” the Maghreb Sumud Organization said in a Tuesday statement.
The detainees include citizens of Spain, Poland, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Tunisia and Italy, among them medical professionals and aid workers.
The case has prompted diplomatic engagement from several European governments. Italy’s foreign ministry said two Italian nationals remain in custody and that consular officials in Benghazi are seeking renewed access, while Spain’s foreign ministry said efforts were continuing to secure the release of a Spanish citizen, following a consular visit reported by Spanish media.
The land convoy was formed as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla’s (GSF) coordinated land-and-sea initiative aimed at breaking the Israeli siege on Gaza and delivering aid.
According to the GSF, months of coordination were carried out with governments and intermediary bodies, including Red Crescent organisations, to secure transit permissions from North Africa towards the Rafah crossing, on the borders between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The convoy had entered the 5+5 security zone on Sunday afternoon to negotiate safe passage for its humanitarian mission, after which contact with the team was lost.
Their detention was later confirmed by authorities, who accused them of violating entry and movement regulations, according to Libya’s eastern-based foreign ministry statement on May 26.
The convoy had entered the 5+5 security zone on Sunday afternoon to negotiate safe passage for its humanitarian mission, after which contact with the team was lost.
This year’s Sumud land convoy brought together more than 200 participants from over 20 countries and included medical and humanitarian supplies and launched after Israel brutally intercepted the maritime flotilla operation and detained hundreds of activists, whose reports on ill-treatment, abuse and torture sparked global diplomatic uproar.
