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Sergio Toribio appeals to “comrades, friends and family” to request the intervention of the authorities to be released “as soon as possible”
MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Spanish activist Sergio Toribio, who is aboard the Freedom Flotilla ship boarded by the Israeli Army when it attempted to break the blockade and reach the Gaza Strip, has asked “friends and family” to “pressure” the Spanish Government to secure his release “as soon as possible,” according to a recording made before the interception and released by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
SOS! the volunteers on ‘Madleen’ have been kidnapped by Israeli forces.
Sergio Toribio is a Spanish citizen.
Pressure the Spanish foreign ministries and help us keep them safe!E: consular@maec.es
X @SpainMFA & @MAECgob @jmalbares
IG : @exteriores.maecBsky:… pic.twitter.com/1U8ATkrDnZ
— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) June 9, 2025
“My name is Sergio Toribio, from Spain. If you are watching this video, we have been intercepted at sea and I have been kidnapped by Israeli occupying forces or those of a country complicit in the genocide of Palestinians by Israel. I ask all my comrades, friends, and family to pressure the Spanish Government to request my release as soon as possible,” he stated.
The video is similar to those published on behalf of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and other volunteers on board the ‘Madleen’, including French MEP Rima Hassan, fellow French Reva Viard, Pascal Raymond Maurieras, Yanis Mhamdi, and Baptiste Andre; Brazilian Thiago Avila, German Yasemin Acar, Turkish Huseyin Suayb Ordu, and Dutch Mark van Rennes.
The recordings were published after the Freedom Flotilla Coalition denounced a drone attack on the ship and the subsequent boarding of the ‘Madleen’ by Israeli troops, who prevented the ship from continuing its journey to Gaza with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade and delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave, mired in a severe humanitarian crisis due to the military offensive launched by Israel following the attacks of 7 October 2023.
Freedom Flotilla organiser Huwaida Arraf described the detention of international volunteers as “arbitrary (and) illegal,” calling for it to end “immediately”. “Israel has no legal authority to detain international volunteers aboard the ‘Madleen’,” stated the Palestinian-American lawyer, arguing that they “are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be penalized for delivering aid or challenging an illegal blockade”.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Foreign Ministry indicated on social network X that “all” passengers of the ‘Madleen’ are “safe and sound”, in a message accompanied by video images showing the volunteers wearing life jackets. “The ‘show’ has ended,” it stated about what it termed the “selfie yacht” and “celebrity yacht”, after asserting that the boat is really “a media stunt”.
The Freedom Flotilla, which claims the importance of International Law through civil disobedience and non-violent action, has made numerous attempts to deliver supplies to the people of Gaza since Israel imposed a maritime blockade on the enclave in 2007. The Israeli offensive has so far left nearly 54,900 dead, according to Gaza authorities, controlled by Hamas.
