An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign activists taken from a Gaza-bound flotilla by six days, a lawyer representing them said.
Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last week.
The representatives of Avila and Abu Keshek have accused Israeli authorities of abusing the two men, who have been on hunger strike for the past six days.
Abu Salih said the two activists were facing “psychological torture” in detention.
“Interrogators have explicitly threatened Thiago Avila’s life and issued threats against his families,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.
“Thiago’s mother passed away this morning, Tuesday, May 5, in Brasília, while her son remained shackled in an Israeli prison cell, denied the most basic human right: the chance to say goodbye to his mother,” the Global Sumud Flotilla added.