Urgent appeal: “Free Antonio Mazzeo and the crew of the Handala!”
During the night between 26 and 27 July, in international waters, the
humanitarian ship Handala of the Freedom Flotilla was stopped by the Israeli
armed forces.
We would like to remind you that our comrade, friend and activist of the
Observatory against the militarisation of schools and universities, Antonio
Mezzo, was arrested last night along with other activists.
We appeal to everyone to: go to this website Newscord.org, enter a few details
and wait a few seconds, and an email bombing campaign will be launched to all
relevant bodies, calling for the release of the Handala volunteers with the
following text:
To the kind attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation, and for information
to the Italian Embassy in Israel, I am writing to you as an Italian citizen
deeply concerned about what has happened in the last few hours to the
humanitarian ship Handala, which was stopped in international waters by Israeli
armed forces (IDF), who boarded the ship with weapons, intimidating and
allegedly detaining civilians on board who were engaged in a peaceful mission of
solidarity with the people of Gaza.
This is a serious violation of international law, the right to freedom of
navigation in international waters and the fundamental human rights of those
involved. I ask the Ministry to:
• Take immediate action to verify the condition of the crew and passengers on
board,
• Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained,
• Publicly condemn the act committed by the IDF, which is incompatible with the
principles of international and humanitarian law.
Italy cannot remain silent in the face of an act of force against a civilian and
peaceful mission.
We ask you to act with the utmost urgency and transparency.
Let’s put pressure on the authorities to secure the release of Antonio and the
crew!