The flotilla demands that the relevant governments “unambiguously” attempt to secure the release of Alicia Armesto and the other detainees in Libya

Eduardo González The Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday demanded that the governments of the ten activists from the so-called Global Sumud Land, who were detained on May 24 by authorities in eastern Libya while loading humanitarian aid for Gaza, including the Spanish citizen Alicia Armesto Núñez, "intervene immediately and unambiguously" to secure their release and guarantee them consular access. Sources at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated to The Diplomat, as they did earlier this week, that "the Spanish Embassy in Libya is following the case and will send the consul as soon as the Libyan authorities allow it." According to a statement from the Flotilla, the Sumud Global Land Convoy was forced to conclude its humanitarian land mission to Gaza after a series of “obstacles,” including “bureaucratic warfare, violence against unarmed and peaceful participants, and the detention of ten people who attempted to meet with authorities in eastern Libya to negotiate the convoy’s safe passage to Egypt.” The convoy, with 230 participants from more than 20 countries, including doctors, engineers, educators, lawyers, and eco-builders, along with seven ambulances, 20 mobile homes, and ten aid trucks loaded with life-saving supplies, was intended for the civilian population of Gaza and was traveling through North Africa in coordination with the Sumud Global Flotilla’s maritime mission. “After months of prior communication and repeated attempts at negotiation, including guarantees of safe passage, the convoy was blocked by eastern Libyan authorities in Sirte,” the statement continued. In the months leading up to the launch of the Sumud Global Overland Convoy, requests for authorizations, permits, and guarantees for safe passage from Mauritania to the Rafah Crossing in Egypt were sent to more than 20 governments, including Libya and Egypt. Egypt responded positively and advised the organizers to coordinate efforts with local Red Crescent organizations, which acted as intermediaries between the Sumud Global Overland Convoy and the authorities in Egypt and Libya. However, when the Overland Convoy was near Sirte, the organizers received a public statement issued by the authorities in eastern Libya on May 14, 2026, demanding that the Overland Convoy transfer the humanitarian aid to the Libyan Red Crescent Society and informing them that only Libyan citizens could escort the aid to the Sallum border crossing, “attributing these orders to the Egyptian authorities.” “In good faith and in accordance with the moral responsibility to ensure that vital aid and specialists reach the besieged population of Gaza as quickly as possible,” the Ground Convoy deployed a delegation on May 19, 2026, to deliver its written response to the authorities in eastern Libya, agreeing to transfer the humanitarian aid to the Libyan Red Crescent Society, which would guarantee its delivery through the Rafah crossing. When the agreed deadline passed and no response was received from the authorities or the Libyan Red Crescent Society, on May 24, a ten-member negotiating delegation proceeded to discuss the agreed terms as previously suggested by the authorities in eastern Libya. Instead, they were ordered to board unmarked white vans and travel to an unknown location. “Communication with the negotiators was immediately cut off, and no information about their status was known until the authorities in eastern Libya announced their detention the following day,” when they were accused of violating “entry permit procedures.” The detained negotiators, including two doctors, are: Alicia Armesto Núñez (Spanish, member of the Journalists' Syndicate), Laura Kwoczała (Poland), Jenelle Jones (USA), Dr. María Paula Giménez (Argentina), Dr. Lucas Ezequiel Aguilera (Argentina), Matías Álvarez Rodríguez (Uruguay), Ana Margarida França Santana Baptista (Portugal), Ashraf Khoja (Tunisia), Domenico Centrone (Italy), and Leonarda Alberizia (Italy). According to the Flotilla, the detention of unarmed civilians for attempting to communicate with local authorities and a humanitarian organization as part of a previously agreed-upon process, after repeated attempts to obtain permits and facilitate passage, “constitutes a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.” “It is important to note that these violations occurred in the context of mediation efforts by the Libyan Red Crescent, a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),” the statement warned. Therefore, the Sumud Global Flotilla condemns the use of violence against its participants and the detention of its negotiators as violations of international law and demands “the unconditional and immediate release of the ten negotiators.” It also calls “on the governments of every country whose nationals are among those detained to intervene immediately and unequivocally” and demands that “consular access to the ten detained negotiators be maintained by all relevant governments.” Furthermore, it calls for “full compliance with international humanitarian law, including the protections afforded to civilian humanitarian actors under the Fourth Geneva Convention.” Last Monday, the Flotilla urged the governments of Spain, Poland, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Tunisia, and Italy to “urgently contact the authorities in eastern Libya in Benghazi and demand the unconditional release of their nationals and a guarantee of safe passage for this humanitarian mission.” Both that day and this Thursday, sources at the Spanish Foreign Ministry assured The Diplomat that “the Spanish Embassy in Libya is following the case and will send the consul as soon as the Libyan authorities allow it to provide all the assistance the affected Spanish citizen may need.”

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