Final Spanish Gaza Flotilla Activists Return Home From Israeli Detention

The remaining six Spanish activists detained by Israeli forces during recent humanitarian flotilla missions to Gaza have returned to Spain. The group, which arrived in Madrid on Monday, includes one woman who was prosecuted for assaulting a prison guard during her captivity.

Reyes Rigo, an activist with the Global Sumud mission detained on October 1, resolved her case by pleading guilty to assault and paying a fine of approximately €2,650. During her court hearing, Rigo contended that the incident occurred as she intervened to protect a fellow detainee from a guard, alleging she was mistreated while in Israeli custody.

Upon her return, Rigo addressed supporters at the airport, stating her experience was minor "compared to our Palestinian brothers and sisters—there, there are women, children, and men in the prisons of a genocidal state." She urged public participation in an October 15 general strike and called for the Spanish government to pursue accountability at the International Court of Justice. The five other returnees had been captured during the "Thousand Madleens to Gaza" flotilla on October 8.

This release marks the conclusion of a series of incidents that saw over 50 Spanish nationals detained by Israel in recent weeks for attempting to transport aid to Gaza by sea. Israel has a longstanding practice of intercepting vessels attempting to breach its naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, a policy that has drawn consistent international criticism and parallels Türkiye's ongoing calls for an end to the humanitarian siege.