Authorities in eastern Libya have released 10 activists from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Land Convoy who were detained for a month in the city of Sirte while seeking permission to cross into Egypt, officials and organizers said.
The Benghazi-based government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it initiated procedures to release the detainees on Tuesday evening.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which organized the land convoy alongside its maritime mission to Gaza last month, confirmed that four activists had been deported to Tunisia, including Tunisian activist Ashraf Khoja, Italians Domenico Centrone and Leonarda Alberizia, and Uruguayan activist Matías Rodríguez.
“While we welcome this news, we also remember: nearly 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners, our four detained Tunisian organizers, and tens of thousands unjustly detained in detention centers around the world. No one will be free until we are all free,” the flotilla said in a statement on Wednesday.
The remaining detainees are anticipated to be released within 24 hours following the Tuesday announcement, the GSF added.
The arrests had drawn international and human rights criticism, with rights groups raising concerns over the legal process and transparency surrounding the detention.
Amnesty International reported the activists were subjected to enforced disappearance after their arrest and raised concerns over their health conditions while held at a facility run by Libya’s Internal Security Agency in Benghazi.
The activists had been staging a hunger strike since June 1 to protest their detention. Their respective governments said they had provided consular support, delivered basic supplies, and pressed Libyan authorities for their release.
The detention followed a May 25 statement by Libya’s Foreign Ministry accusing members of what it called the “Sumud Convoy 2” of entering Libyan territory en route to Gaza without completing the required legal procedures and obtaining permits for transit through official crossings. Foreign Ministry adviser Youssef Saad later accused the group of “supporting Hamas,” according to media comments.
The Global Sumud Land Convoy, comprising around 200 volunteers, was attempting to reach the Rafah crossing via North Africa to deliver humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip.
The land mission is part of a wider campaign organized by the GSF to challenge the Israeli blockade of the strip. Israel intercepted boats from the flotilla in international waters in May.
