“There is always an expectation for a bit more decency and dignity from institutions in Portugal, but we should never stop being surprised; I think that’s a good principle,” stated Mariana Mortágua during a campaign event for the local elections in Oeiras, Lisbon district.
Mortágua asserted that the government disclosed the information that the four activists who were part of a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza would have to cover their return expenses before receiving the notification.
When asked about the specific costs involved, Mortágua replied that she had not yet received the notification.
The national coordinator of BE refrained from further commenting on the matter, noting that she had already addressed the case on social media.
On Tuesday, Mariana Mortágua wrote on social media platform X that the flotilla’s destination was Gaza and not Israel, where the four activists “were taken illegally.”
“The government decided to charge the cost to those who were delivering humanitarian aid against genocide. A decent government would send the bill to the perpetrator. I will pay the ticket, buying proof that there are ministers without backbone,” she criticized in the post.
The information that the activists would need to bear the repatriation costs was initially reported by Correio da Manhã and confirmed by various media outlets through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The four Portuguese members of the Global Sumud flotilla landed last Sunday, around 10:30 PM, at Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon, where they were awaited by family and pro-Palestinian supporters.
BE coordinator Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves were detained in Israel after Israeli forces intercepted the approximately 50 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which intended to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
