Brazilian activist demands Tunisia release Sumud Flotilla organisers

A Brazilian activist has demanded the release of four Tunisian colleagues who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla that attempted to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid last year.

Activists from multiple countries around the world boarded dozens of boats, launching the flotilla in August 2025, to carry life-saving supplies to Gaza. They were subsequently intercepted by Israel, with those on board detained.

Israeli authorities released Nabil Channoufi, Ghassan Henchiri, Ghassan Boughdiri, and Wael Naouar from prison and they returned to Tunisia in October. Fellow activists said Tunisian “counterterrorism” police rearrested the four in February, after they announced a new flotilla mission to carry aid to Gaza.

“It’s been so long, my dear friends,” said Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, in a video message posted on social media on Tuesday.

“I’m writing to you this letter after 170 days since you’ve been arrested while mobilising solidarity with Palestine through our peaceful mission of the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the illegal siege of Gaza,” he said.

In March, the United Kingdom-based news site the Morning Star reported that the activists were detained by the Tunisian National Guard financial crimes unit for alleged money laundering, fraud and misuse of funds collected through flotilla campaign donations.

They have been held in Tunis’s Mornaguia Prison for more than five months, according to family members and fellow activists. Tunisia’s government has not publicly commented on the situation.

“No one should be detained and separated from their families for acting in solidarity with a people victim of a genocide,” Avila said.