The coordinator of the Left Bloc (BE), Mariana Mortágua, stated on Sunday that she “never” admitted committing a crime to Israeli authorities to facilitate her repatriation after being detained by Israel for participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla.
“They fabricated a crime, but we never admitted to it and left the country,” she said to RTP3 at the Madrid airport, Spain, when asked if it had been challenging to acknowledge committing a crime by entering the territory “illegally.”
It is noteworthy that Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves landed in Madrid for a brief layover before returning to Lisbon.
The four Portuguese nationals were detained last Wednesday night into Thursday when Israeli forces intercepted approximately 50 boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
This afternoon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that “the arrival of the four national citizens, who were part of the flotilla, is scheduled for 10:40 p.m. at Humberto Delgado Airport, Lisbon.”
The repatriated individuals will be met by the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, Emídio Sousa.
The groups Humanitarian Flotilla and Palestine in Portuguese have also announced they will welcome the four Portuguese. “Tonight we will receive at Lisbon airport Diogo Chaves, Mariana Mortágua, Miguel Duarte, and Sofia Aparício, who were aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla and were attacked in international waters and abducted to an Israeli prison,” reads their social media statement.
Ambassador “ensured proper development of the repatriation process”
According to the ministry under Paulo Rangel’s jurisdiction, Portugal’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, Helena Paiva, visited the Ketsiot detention center in Israel to “ensure the proper development of the repatriation process.”
The Portuguese, added the MFA, were accompanied by a diplomat throughout the process.
The Portuguese citizens, along with more than 450 activists of various nationalities, were taken by Israeli authorities to a detention center in the Negev desert, southern Israel, after the vessels were intercepted by the Israeli Navy in international waters.
The ambassador visited the Portuguese on Friday, indicating they were “in good health” but had reported “various complaints,” prompting immediate diplomatic protests both by her and by the Minister for State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, to the Israeli ambassador in Lisbon, Oren Rozenblat.
The MFA reported that the activists “were not subjected to physical violence,” but experienced “difficult and harsh conditions upon arrival at Ashdod port [where they were taken] and at the detention center,” in addition to being “without water and food for quite a long time.”
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expressed hope that the Portuguese citizens can return to the country “without any incident”, considering that the humanitarian flotilla’s message had been conveyed.
Describing itself as “peaceful,” the flotilla stated it aimed to “break the Gaza blockade” and provide “humanitarian aid to a besieged population facing hunger and genocide.”
The Israeli government has repeatedly condemned initiatives like the flotilla’s, accusing the activists of being backed by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited the activists at Ashdod port and labeled them “terrorists” and “supporters of terrorism,” urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep them “detained for a few months” rather than proceeding with their deportation.
[News in development]
