Arab News | Hundreds of Tunisians demand release of jailed Gaza flotilla activists

TUNIS: Hundreds of Tunisians protested on Saturday to demand the release of jailed pro-Palestinian activists accused of money laundering when they helped organize a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla.

The four activists were arrested in March accused of misusing funds raised for the Global Sumud Flotilla, which sailed to Gaza in 2025 with the aim of delivering aid to the Palestinian territory.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, however, has condemned their arrest and repeatedly called for their release.

In a statement on Saturday, the group said the detained activists’ health was “deteriorating fast” after they began a hunger strike to protest their imprisonment.

“This is a politically motivated case, and we consider them to be prisoners of conscience and political prisoners,” said Bassem Trifi, head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH).

The activists’ arrest came as the group prepared for a new mission departing in part from Tunisia, which was later canceled.

“The movement in support of Palestinian rights brought together a huge number of people and generated significant popular support,” Trifi added. “Today, there are attempts to reduce the issue to a simple matter of the mismanagement (of funds).”

The Global Sumud Flotilla had condemned a “troubling departure from Tunisia’s long history of public solidarity with the Palestinian people” upon the activists’ arrest.

Ghassen Bouazi, an advocate for the activists’ release, said their arrest was “part of a broader campaign targeting political figures, rights advocates and journalists.”

“We believe that some of the reasons behind their arrest were pressures from abroad,” he added, without elaborating.

The Global Sumud Flotilla describes its actions as a “non-violent response to genocide, siege, mass starvation, and the destruction of civilian life in Gaza.”

The flotilla was anchored in Tunisia’s Sidi Bou Said port when it was attacked by two drones last year.

Before reaching Gaza last year, the flotilla was intercepted by Israel, which seized its boats before detaining and deporting the activists.