Ten members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, including journalists and activists, landed at Bratislava Airport on Monday afternoon after being released from Israeli custody and deported. Among the ten were one Slovak, Peter Švestka, one Canadian, two Americans, and six Dutch nationals.
They were greeted on the tarmac by Slovakia’s foreign minister, Juraj Blanár. Inside the general aviation terminal they were met by Slovak pro-Palestine activists, journalists, and consular staff from the Dutch, US and Canadian embassies.
A high-profile mission
The Global Sumud Flotilla comprised more than 40 civilian ships that set sail in August this year in an attempt to break Israel’s 16-year naval blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the ongoing war.
Since October 2023, Gaza has faced an Israeli military campaign of bombardment, siege and displacement that has killed tens of thousands and left most residents without reliable access to food, water or medical care. Israel has said the blockade and its military operations are aimed at preventing attacks by Hamas and other armed groups, which it considers terrorist organisations.
In 2025, several major human rights organisations – including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the UN Commission of Inquiry – said Israel’s actions may meet the legal definition of genocide, citing the large-scale killing of civilians, destruction of essential infrastructure and statements by Israeli officials indicating intent to destroy Gaza’s population as a group.
All 450 participants in the flotilla, among them the climate activist Greta Thunberg, were detained between 1 and 3 October after Israeli naval forces intercepted the ships in what the Israeli military described as enforcement of the naval blockade.
‘They kidnapped us in international waters’
“They kidnapped us in international waters,” said Greg J Stoker, an American journalist who was among those released, speaking to The Slovak Spectator. He described a five-day ordeal during which detainees were “taken to a terrorist detention camp in the middle of the Negev desert”.
Stoker said all medications, clothes and personal belongings were confiscated, leaving detainees with only their passports and standard-issue garments. “For much of our detention no one knew where we were,” he said, adding that consular staff were not informed of their location until Sunday. “We were just randomly put on a flight to Slovakia. Our embassies don’t know we’re here.”
He said detainees were told to sign forms consenting to “self-deport” within 72 hours, but the deadline was not respected. “It’s completely irregular,” he said. Consular access, he added, was limited: “The consulates struggled to see everybody after about 72 hours.”
Describing conditions in detention, Stoker said: “No showers – we’re on day five. No food, really. Water out of the restroom.” He added that “regular raid squads” entered the cells every few hours, making sleep almost impossible. “Medication was denied to people without insulin,” he said, recalling a guard’s remark: “We don’t have doctors for animals.”
Overcrowding was severe, he said: “The room capacity was eight. We had about 13.” Asked whether he would sail again, Stoker replied: “I would go again,” but added wryly: “I wouldn’t rate the accommodation very high on TripAdvisor.”
The Slovak Spectator has not been able to independently verify the conditions described by detainees.
‘They beat me because I wouldn’t remove my hijab’
Another released detainee, Miriam, from Amsterdam, described the experience as “quite intense”. “We had a light version of what [Palestinians] go through every day,” she said, “but it was still unlike anything I’ve faced.”
She said detainees were searched at the port, some beaten, and then “brought in buses blindfolded to the prison”. Inside, she said, “we didn’t get water, people were on a hunger strike, there was no hospital or medicine, we didn’t get to speak to a lawyer.”
Miriam said she eventually saw the Dutch ambassador while in custody but was later put on a flight without knowing its destination. “It’s been quite some time, so it’s nice to have people around you,” she said on arrival in Bratislava.
She described being assaulted for refusing to remove her hijab: “They took my hijab off, they beat me up because I didn’t want to. Then I said I’m not going out without it, so I took a T-shirt and used it.”
Before the interview ended, she added a message of solidarity: “We did this not for ourselves but for Palestine. Make sure you speak up, make sure you do anything in your power to break this siege – because it’s now or never.”
Slovak welcome
At Bratislava airport’s general aviation terminal, Slovak supporters from groups including Front and Včera bolo neskoro gathered to meet the freed passengers, among them Švestka. The arrivals hall filled with chants, Palestinian flags and tears as local volunteers greeted the deported detainees.
“To support the activists, the heroes, for everything they did,” said Petra, one of the Slovak well-wishers. “They’re amazing. I think it’s very important what they’re doing. Just thinking about what happened to them is gut-wrenching. I hate it, I’m so angry.”
She added: “We’re a step closer to having a free Palestine.” Though not aligned with any group, Petra said she came “just to support”, calling her presence a small gesture of solidarity.
Nearby, Alexandra Aganbegović from the activist collective Front said she had been monitoring the flotilla’s progress for days. “These people were bringing life-saving aid to people plagued by genocide in Gaza, and they were kidnapped, tortured and forced to leave just for wanting to help starving children. It’s absolutely horrifying,” she said. “I’m disgusted that the governments of the world – and our own – are allowing something like this.”
Surrounded by reporters and eager to reunite with his family, Švestka declined an extended interview, saying only: “People should know that over there is a genocide. We are just tools to show what’s going on. So please focus on Gaza.”
Slovak government response
In a statement, Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár said: “The Slovak Republic, together with Greece, is the first European country to have ensured the return of its citizens in this case with its own capacities.” He added that the ministry of defence’s Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft also carried citizens of the Netherlands, Canada and the United States. “Slovakia has provided its capacities for the return of another nine detained citizens … thereby reaffirming our position as a respected and reliable partner,” Blanár said.
The Israeli government has not commented publicly on the treatment of detainees from the flotilla, but has previously defended such interceptions as necessary for national security.
