Mariana Mortágua expressed her reaction on social media platform X [formerly Twitter] to the news that she must pay the cost of her repatriation flight from Israel to Portugal.
“The government decided to place the cost on those bringing humanitarian aid against genocide. A decent government would send the bill to the genocider,” criticized the Left Bloc member of parliament.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that consular services sent a document stating the full cost of the trip, which is the responsibility of the individuals involved in the flotilla.
This means the four activists from the humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza last month will need to reimburse the Portuguese government for their trip from Israel, where they were detained, as the cost was initially covered by the Portuguese government.
“I will pay for the ticket, buying evidence that there are ministers without a backbone,” assured Mariana Mortágua, while recalling, “the destination was Gaza, not Israel, where we were taken illegally,” and lamenting that the government imposed “the cost on those bringing humanitarian aid against genocide.”
O destino era Gaza. Não era Israel, para onde fomos levados ilegalmente. O governo decidiu imputar o custo a quem levava ajuda humanitária contra o genocídio. Um governo decente mandaria a fatura ao genocida. Pagarei o bilhete, comprando a prova de que há ministros sem espinha.
— mariana mortágua (@MRMortagua) October 7, 2025
Activists returned home on Sunday
This concerns the return of four Portuguese activists who arrived in Portugal on Sunday after being detained for days in an Israeli prison. The group was captured along with other activists by Israeli forces.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained to Notícias ao Minuto that the return cost was covered by the Portuguese state for “logistical and practical reasons,” primarily due to the “impossibility of prior communication with these national citizens.”
“The document was accompanied by the reimbursement request form for the travel cost, as per consular regulations,” it was explained.
Mission Intercepted
The activists aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza were detained last Thursday when Israeli forces intercepted approximately 50 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, intending to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, as well as Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves, arrived in Lisbon on Sunday, where they were greeted by a crowd applauding and chanting support for Palestine.
Several demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, scarves, and banners with slogans like “Free Palestine” and “Thank you Mariana, Sofia, Diogo, and Miguel for representing us.”
Upon arrival, the four demonstrators reported having been subjected to mistreatment. These allegations, however, were denied to Notícias ao Minuto by the Israeli Embassy in Portugal. “The allegations of mistreatment towards the Hamas-Sumud fleet detainees are outright lies,” assured Yonatan Gonen, head of the Mission of this Embassy.
The Global Sumud Flotilla departed from Barcelona, in northern Spain, on August 31, and aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, but was intercepted last Wednesday and Thursday in international waters by Israeli military forces, who detained about 470 people on board the boats.
