LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has urged Israeli authorities to immediately release journalists detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
Israeli forces began intercepting vessels from the flotilla in international waters near Cyprus on Monday, as the convoy attempted to reach Gaza on a humanitarian mission.
Authorities initially transferred those detained to an undisclosed location and have refused to disclose their legal status.
Israeli rights group Adalah said on Wednesday that detained activists had been transferred to the port of Ashdod after initially being held at sea, as international condemnation mounted.
CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said Israel’s treatment of the journalists “follows years of documented arrests, attacks, and killings of journalists and media workers covering Gaza and attempts to report on it.
