By Ranna Khalil | Researcher
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Adalah had the honor to represent a brave and committed political protest group last month- the activists on the Madleen Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.
In June 2025, the Madleen set sail from Sicily carrying humanitarian aid for the Palestinians in Gaza. The activists aimed to peacefully break Israel’s illegal blockade.
On 9 June, at approximately 3:00 a.m., Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen in international waters. Contact was lost with the ship’s 10 volunteers and two journalists. The Israeli navy seized the vessel outside its legal jurisdiction as it sailed toward the State of Palestine’s internationally recognized territorial waters.
Adalah represented nine of the 12 activists and journalists during the week they were unlawfully detained. Adalah demanded and secured information about their location and legal status, and gained access to them at various detention facilities to provide legal counsel. Adalah attorneys conducted near-daily visits while the protestors were in custody, advocating for improved conditions and their immediate release. Throughout this time, Adalah communicated with the activists’ families, local and international media, and global civil society networks, including the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, amid heightened international interest in the civilian mission.
Despite being forcibly brought into Israel by the military, Israeli authorities treated all 12 individuals as if they had entered the country illegally. The protestors were presented with two options: agree to deportation or remain in detention and face tribunal proceedings. Four consented to expedited deportation in order to regain communication, while eight contested their detention and expulsion. Two of the eight were held in solitary confinement- one after launching a hunger strike, and another for writing “Free Palestine” on a detention center wall. Adalah protested these punitive measures and argued before the tribunal that the interception was unlawful, the detentions arbitrary, and the mission a legitimate humanitarian protest. Adalah attorneys demanded their release and the right to resume their peaceful voyage to Gaza.
While the tribunal ruled that the protestors remain in custody pending deportation, Adalah’s legal intervention led to the safe and relatively swift release of the volunteers. They were deported either to their home countries or, for three activists still in custody during the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war, to the Jordanian border crossing.
Although the Madleen was blocked from reaching Gaza, the protest succeeded in amplifying its message against the illegal blockade, the enforced starvation, and ongoing genocide in Gaza to global audience.
The 12 people who were on board the Madleen are: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg; French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan; Yasemin Acar from Germany; French nationals Baptiste Andre, Pascal Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi (a journalist), and Reva Viard; Thiago Ávila from Brazil; Suayb Ordu from Turkey; Sergio Toribio from Spain; Marco van Rennes from the Netherlands; and Omar Faiad, a journalist with Al Jazeera Mubasher, also from France.
The mission and Adalah’s legal defense of the protestors received extensive international media coverage. Notable examples include:
The charismatic and articulate Madleen activists garnered world attention. Adalah worked in cooperation with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the FIDH, and the French Palestine Solidarity Committee on social media content that reached broad international audiences and raised awareness about the mission. High-performing posts include:
Thank you for your generous contributions to Adalah and our defense of Palestinians’ human rights. Your support makes these legal representations possible.
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