Portuguese Activists Expose Israeli Prison Horrors After Gaza Flotilla Detention

Repatriated Activists Criticize Government Inaction

Dozens of activists awaited the four Portuguese activists at the arrivals of Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon.

Mariana Mortágua, Sofia Aparício, Miguel Duarte, and Diogo Chaves were received in a room by family and friends before being applauded by hundreds of supporters of the Palestinian cause, around midnight on Monday.

"We are not heroes, we are doing what our governments are not doing," stated the Bloco de Esquerda deputy in her first statements to the press in Lisbon, also criticizing the Portuguese government for the absence of sanctions against Tel Aviv and not for the lack of support while they were detained.

"This is not about us. Our criticism is not about the consular support given to Portuguese citizens in Israeli prison. (...) Our criticism is of the Portuguese government that does not apply sanctions to Israel," she added.

"Imagine what they do to Palestinian prisoners"

In her first statements upon arrival, Mariana Mortágua highlighted that the activists realized "the difference in that prison between being European and being Palestinian." As difficult as it was, she acknowledged, and "that there were abuses - which there were - this gave us an idea of the degree of impunity of Israelis against Palestinians."

"All of us have very similar experiences in this detention in Israeli prison. We have experience seeing comrades being beaten and taken away (...). We had experiences of several hours handcuffed and being provoked by an Israeli minister," reported Mariana Mortágua upon leaving the airport.

"If they do this to us, imagine what they don't do to Palestinian prisoners," she emphasized.

The activist Miguel Duarte recounted that everyone experienced "hunger and thirst." "We were handcuffed, we were blindfolded, we were put inside prison buses."

He added that the cells "were completely overcrowded" and that some of the detainees were more than 48 hours without water or food.

"We have comrades who have diabetes who were three days without receiving insulin. We were put in cages in the sun for a long time," he continued.

"There are no prisoner rights in Israeli prisons, if we had any protection for our lives and our physical integrity it was because we are Europeans, we have mobilizations in support of the flotilla. We have to do the same for Palestinians."

"Israeli soldier falsified our signatures"

Actress Sofia Aparício also recounted that Israeli authorities tried to get the activists to sign documents "written in Hebrew," which they did not sign.

"Obviously we did not sign," she stated. "There was also an attempt, during the night, to force us to sign documents. It was part of their strategy."

Denial reinforced by Miguel Duarte that, still on Sunday before arriving at the Israeli airport, there were activists who were "almost forced" to sign documents "as quickly as possible, without being able to read them."

"The documents said that we accepted that Israel had captured us legally and brought us to Israel legally," he explained. "We refused to sign and saw an Israeli soldier with our passports falsifying our signatures to show that we accept being intercepted legally."

"It is necessary to be clear about this: we were intercepted, we were kidnapped in international waters and brought illegally and against our will to Israel."

"They invented a crime"

In a note sent to the press this Sunday, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs advanced that the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Emídio Sousa, would receive the four activists.

The coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda, Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves were among the more than 450 participants of the humanitarian flotilla destined for Gaza and were detained by Israel on October 1.

Israel has already deported 170 activists from the flotilla and is preparing a new expulsion this Monday.

The flight that brought the four repatriated Portuguese made a stop in Madrid, where it left several of the Spanish activists who participated in the flotilla.

At the airport in the Spanish capital, before heading to Lisbon, Mariana Mortágua accused Israel of inventing "a crime."

Questioned by RTP, the spokesperson for Bloco de Esquerda stated that, before the Israeli authorities, she "never" admitted having entered "illegally" into the territory, for the repatriation to happen.

"They invented a crime. But we never admitted it and we left the country," she added.

Several figures from Bloco de Esquerda were at Lisbon Airport to receive the activists, namely the sole deputy of the party, Mariana Mortágua.

Importance of the flotilla

Eurodeputy Catarina Martins emphasized the importance of the humanitarian flotilla that sought to bring aid to Gaza. She considers that, even though they did not manage to reach the destination, they managed to exert "pressure."

"The international mobilization that the flotilla is achieving is the path to stop the genocide," emphasized the Bloco de Esquerda eurodeputy.

Catarina Martins also considered that the four activists who arrived in Portugal today did something "that Portugal can be proud of."

Fabian Figueiredo, from BE, considered that the mission is "the cry of the world's conscience." The former Bloco de Esquerda deputy stated that the objective of the flotilla was "the work of the Governments."

"This genocide has to stop," stated Fabian Figueiredo while awaiting the arrival of the four Portuguese activists at Lisbon airport. "There is an illegal siege in Gaza. It has to be the governments of the whole world to stop it."

The international rights of the activists "illegally detained" by Israel "were not respected," emphasized the Bloco de Esquerda member.

Regarding the activists, he advanced that they will be in good health despite the conditions and the denunciations.

Praise for the activists

The former spokesperson for Bloco de Esquerda, Francisco Louçã, expressed "enormous joy" for the release and arrival of the Portuguese activists. At the airport he praised the "bravery they showed" and considered that "it helped the world to be much more supportive."

"We are witnessing a genocide, a tragedy," recalled Francisco Louçã, adding that "these people did not remain silent and will have helped the Portuguese people to take to the streets."

"Portugal became greater with this action," he stated.

Through the social network X, the spokesperson for Livre, Rui Tavares, said he hopes that the gesture of the four activists "inspires that the defense of human rights is a universal principle" and that "the end of Palestinian suffering and the self-determination of their people are a priority for all."