Friends and supporters worldwide of renowned Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam have demanded his immediate release, standing in solidarity with journalists and medics detained aboard the Conscience and Thousand Madleen boats, as well as the thousands of Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons without trial.
A statement including these demands was released from Dhaka on Thursday.
As of this reporting, 184 signatories from different parts of the world have signed on the statement. High-profile signatories include Arundhati Roy (New Delhi), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (New York), Mike van Graan (Cape Town), and Kanak Mani Dixit (Kathmandu), among others across multiple countries, and all of them demanded an end to the occupation and genocide in Palestine.
The flotilla vessels were carrying journalists and medics to Gaza to break the 18-year Israeli blockade. “For nearly two years, the illegal Israeli occupation has blocked international journalists from entering Gaza, creating one of the most dangerous press blackouts in modern history,” the statement reads.
The coalition added that hundreds of Palestinian journalists have been deliberately targeted, imprisoned, or silenced.
David Heap of the Canadian Boat to Gaza and Freedom Flotilla Coalition Steering Committee said, “Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard these ships. Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately.”
“This seizure blatantly violates international law and defies the ICJ’s binding orders requiring unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza. Our volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade. Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful, and must end immediately,” he stated.
The coalition’s demands include ending Israel’s blockade and genocide of Gaza, releasing all abducted volunteers, delivering humanitarian aid directly to Palestinians, and holding Israel accountable for military assaults on the flotilla.
Those who wish to support the cause can sign the statement here.
