(Adnkronos) – Two Italians who are among around ten Global Sumud Gaza aid activists detained in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi will hopefully “soon return home”, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday, after six freed activists arrived at Rome’s Fiumicino airport from Benghazi via Turkey.
“Let’s hope they return home soon,” Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Rome.
The Global Sumud group claims it was roughed up by Libyan security forces when their camp at the coastal city of Sirte was cleared and they were detained. The two Italians who are still in detention were held with the rest of the group on Sunday, accused of entering Libya illegally and taken to Benghazi.
No information was available on the condition of the two Italian activists still in detention but itheir deportation is understood to be imminent and Italy’s consul general in Benghazi hopes to meet the pair.
The foreign minister of Libya’s eastern government has stated that the detained activitists’ human rights have been respected.
Two other Global Sumud activists from Italy’s northeast Veneto region who were detained in Libya were due to arrive at Venice’s Marco Polo airport on Wednesday.
The Italians were part of a group involved in a ‘Land Convoy’ including an ambulance, that was seeking to get aid to blockaded Gaza over land, via Libya and Egypt after Israeli forces intercepted the 50-vessel Global Sumud flotilla in international waters last week, detaining more than 400 activists on board.
Rome prosecutors are meanwhile investigating alleged abuse of activists from the Gaza aid flotilla intercepted last week who were detained at the port of Ashdod. Senior Israeli figures including police minister Itamar Be-Givir and and other members of Israel’s far-right cabinet are understood to be in the probe’s cross-hairs.
