Bangladeshi photographer and activist Dr. Shahidul Alam has been detained in Israel’s Ketziot Prison along with other rights activists from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), according to a statement released by Drik, the organization founded by Alam.
Citing information from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Drik stated on Thursday (October 9) that all activists, journalists, healthcare workers, and crew members from the flotilla heading toward Gaza have been taken to Israel’s Ashdod Port. Following legal procedures there, they were transferred to Ketziot Prison.
The statement added that the flotilla activists told Adalah’s lawyers they had been subjected to various forms of violence by Israeli forces since the seizure of their vessel. “Palestinians face the same, and often far more severe, violence every day under Israeli occupation,” the statement said.
Drik also mentioned that the Ketziot Prison, located in Israel’s Negev desert, currently holds around 10,000 Palestinian detainees.
“We demand freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, freedom for all flotilla activists. Palestine will be free,” the statement concluded with a call for the release of all Palestinian prisoners and Freedom Flotilla activists, affirming solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
