Spanish activist Saif Abu Keshek arrives at a court in Ashkelon. AFP
Spanish national of Palestinian origin Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among 175 of activists aboard the 22 vessels of the Global Sumud flotilla that was attacked and boarded by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday.
The two were forcibly taken by Israeli forces and unlawfully brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.
On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended the illegal detention of Abu Keshek and Avila until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.
The pair's legal team then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention.
But their appeal was rejected.
"Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court and kept the previous decision," Hadeel Abu Salih said, referring to the earlier court's ruling.
Israeli rights group Adalah, which is representing the pair, has reiterated that their detention illegal.
"As we said from the first day, we're talking about an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy without any authority," Abu Salih said after the hearing on Wednesday.
"It's so concerning that the legal system is also giving a free hand for the Israeli forces to continue with this illegal arrest in a way that would also give it legitimacy to do it again and again and kidnap international nationals."
'Stopped drinking'
Adalah has also accused the authorities of subjecting the men to continuous abuse in detention.
"Saif basically told us that he stopped drinking water in addition to the hunger strike he started on Thursday morning," Abu Salih said.
"They are also telling us that they keep interrogating them for most of the time, most of the day, and the questions keep going around the same context, which is the humanitarian mission context."
Adalah had earlier said that the two men were being held in "total isolation, subjected to 24/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells and kept blindfolded whenever they were moved, including during medical examinations".
Adalah said Israeli authorities have accused the pair of several offences, including "assisting the enemy during wartime" and "membership in and providing services to a terrorist organisation".
Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have called for their swift release.
"It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it," UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.
Al-Kheetan called for an investigation into "disturbing accounts of severe mistreatment" of the detainees.
Both Avila and Abu Keshek reported being subjected to severe physical and psychological violence from the first moments of their detention.
According to testimonies relayed by lawyers and released activists, Abu Keshek was separated from other detainees and subjected to severe ill-treatment, with witnesses reporting that his screams were audible on board, while Avila reportedly lost consciousness twice due to the assaults he endured, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported.
Testimonies also describe torture including beatings, isolation, deprivation of basic needs, and injuries among several flotilla members, warranting an immediate independent investigation and accountability for all those who ordered, carried out, or concealed these acts.
The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory by the Israeli genocidal war.
“The Israeli navy crossing hundreds of miles at sea just to ensure civilian boats carrying food, baby formula, and medical supplies don’t make it to Palestinians reveals the lengths Israel is prepared to go to in order to maintain its cruel and unlawful 19-year-long blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip," Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, said.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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