Transparency Maroc Calls for Immediate Release of Activists Detained by Israeli Forces

Marrakech – Transparency Maroc has issued a solidarity statement demanding the immediate release of Moroccan activists Aziz Ghali and Abdeladim Ben Draoui, who remain detained by Israeli authorities after participating in the “Global Sumud Flotilla” mission to Gaza.

According to a statement released by Transparency Maroc on Monday, the organization is “following with great concern” the detention of Ghali, a member of Transparency Maroc’s National Council and former president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), along with engineer Abdeladim Ben Draoui.

“Transparency Maroc expresses its absolute solidarity with human rights activist Aziz Ghali, who has been on hunger strike since his abduction, and Abdeladim Ben Draoui,” the organization stated.

The two Moroccans were among international activists participating in a humanitarian mission aimed at breaking the blockade on Palestinians and opening safe corridors for delivering food and medical aid to Gaza residents who have been under siege since October 2023.

The statement condemned these actions as “crimes that constitute a flagrant violation of maritime law, international human rights law, humanitarian law, and the Universal Declaration for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.”

Transparency Maroc considers what Ghali and other detained participants are experiencing as “torture and cruel and degrading treatment in retaliation for his steadfast positions against the occupation.”

According to converging reports, Ghali has refused to meet with diplomats from the Moroccan liaison office in Tel Aviv, insisting instead on representatives from the Moroccan embassy in Ramallah to handle his deportation case, although the embassy in Ramallah deals only with matters under the Palestinian Authority.

Reports indicate he has maintained his political principles against normalization by refusing to sign any official documents and remaining silent during interrogations.

Lawyers from Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, visited both Moroccan detainees yesterday morning and confirmed they remain on hunger strike.

According to the legal team, “there is no exceptional procedure for them, as the decision issued against them is deportation, like other activists,” while noting they continue to refuse food.

Transparency Maroc has called on Moroccan authorities to “intervene urgently for his immediate release” and “assume their full political and diplomatic responsibilities in protecting all Moroccan citizens.”

The organization also urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other specialized UN bodies to “move urgently to investigate the circumstances of the detention and torture of a number of activists.”

Parties, groups intervene demanding protection, release

On Tuesday, the AMDH confirmed it “contacted the defense team assigned to defend Fleet of Resilience activists, and confirmed the continued abduction of five activists, including two Moroccans.”

The statement noted that Ghali and Ben Draoui “were not included in the deportation operation that took place on Tuesday.”

The Unified Socialist Party (PSU) said in a statement: “We hold the Moroccan government responsible for not intervening to protect Moroccan citizens who were kidnapped and detained in prisons of the Zionist entity.”

Meanwhile, the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of Moroccan activists Aziz Ghali and Abdeladim Ben Draoui.”

Israeli authorities attacked 42 ships from the Sumud Flotilla last Wednesday while sailing in international waters toward Gaza, illegally detaining hundreds of international activists aboard before announcing their deportation on Friday. The fleet issued a distress call after the Israeli army’s attack, considering this escalation a “war crime.”

This marks the first time dozens of ships have sailed together toward Gaza, home to about 2.4 million Palestinians, in a collective attempt to break the Israeli blockade that has been ongoing for 18 years.