Middle East and Africa
Detainees said torture, physical violence, sexual abuse and restricted access to food and water became part of daily life during four days in custody
Andre Prasetyo Nugroho, one of the Indonesian members of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla which was detained by Israeli forces after the flotilla’s vessels were intercepted in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, shows injuries caused by Israeli soldiers on his forearm upon arrival on May 24, 2026, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
After four days at sea attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and another four confined inside an overcrowded container turned prison by Israeli forces, 24-year-old activist Hendro Prasetyo said he returned with many emotions, but fear was not among them. What grew instead, he said, was outrage and determination.Earlier in March, Hendro, a member of the Islamic humanitarian group SMART 171, was invited to join the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) convoy, a humanitarian mission carrying symbolic aid to Gaza while seeking to draw global attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian exclave.
Having followed reports of Israeli violations against Palestinians for years, Hendro decided to join the mission despite understanding the risks faced by previous Gaza-bound convoys. On May 14, he boarded the Kasr-1, one of around 50 vessels departing from Turkey as part of the flotilla, after undergoing training on how to respond if intercepted by Israeli forces.
