The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy extends its sincere condolences and sympathy to Brazilian humanitarian activist Thiago Ávila, one of the participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip, on the death of his mother, while he remains arbitrarily detained in Israeli occupation prisons.
The Center considers that the continued detention of Thiago Ávila under these harsh humanitarian circumstances, and depriving him of his natural right to bid farewell to his mother and share this moment of loss with his family, constitutes a grave violation of basic humanitarian values. It also brings back to the forefront the suffering of thousands of Palestinian prisoners who have lost their fathers, mothers, wives, and children while behind bars, without the occupation paying any regard to their human right to take a final farewell or participate in funeral ceremonies. Many of them are not even informed of the loss until many days, or perhaps months, later, in a cruel practice that reveals the extent of the disregard for the most basic humanitarian standards.
The Center affirms that Thiago Ávila was not engaged in a hostile mission, but rather participated in a peaceful humanitarian action aimed at breaking the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and supporting civilians’ right to life, freedom, and dignity. This makes his continued detention a retaliatory measure that lacks any legal or moral basis.
The Center notes that the arrest of international solidarity activists participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, including Thiago Ávila and human rights activist Saif Abukeshk, comes within the context of the occupation’s policy of criminalizing humanitarian solidarity with Gaza and intimidating free voices that seek to expose the blockade and the ongoing violations against the Palestinian people.
The Center points out that the death of Thiago Ávila’s mother while he is in detention adds a painful humanitarian dimension to his case and places the international community before a real test in defending the principles it claims to protect, foremost among them the right to freedom, the right to humanitarian solidarity, and the rejection of arbitrary detention.
The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocay calls on the international community, human rights and humanitarian organizations, and the relevant diplomatic missions to take urgent action to pressure the occupation authorities to immediately and unconditionally release activist Thiago Ávila, his colleague human rights activist Saif Abu Kashk, and all solidarity activists detained because of their participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The Center holds the occupation authorities fully responsible for the continued detention of the activists and solidarity campaigners, and for the severe psychological and humanitarian consequences this has for them and their families. It affirms that solidarity with Gaza is not a crime, and that attempts to punish those who show solidarity will not succeed in silencing free voices that stand with justice and human rights.
The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocay
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
