More than a week after setting out on a mission to deliver aid to Palestinians living through Israel's genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip, ten international volunteers remain detained in eastern Libya, where they have now spent four days on hunger strike after authorities extended their detention by another ten days.
The activists, part of the Global Sumud Land Convoy, disappeared on 25 May while attempting to negotiate safe passage for hundreds of volunteers and aid vehicles travelling towards Egypt and the Rafah crossing.
Since then, communication has been scarce, families have struggled for information and concerns for their wellbeing have continued to grow.
"I am deeply worried about the safety and wellbeing of the 10 detained. They are my friends and comrades," Jessica Breaky, a participant in the convoy, told The New Arab. "Hearing that they have begun a hunger strike has only deepened that concern, but it has not surprised me. Their commitment to justice and to the people of Palestine runs incredibly deep."
The Global Sumud Flotilla and the Maghreb Sumud Organisation announced on Wednesday that the detainees had been on hunger strike for four days.
"Their detention was extended by ten more. They were negotiating safe passage for life-saving aid to Gaza. They are doctors, a journalist, human rights defenders. They have been on hunger strike for four days," the organisations said in a statement.
The volunteers had travelled to meet eastern Libyan authorities after earlier attempts to cross into Egypt were blocked. The delegation was sent to negotiate safe passage for the entire convoy, which was carrying ambulances, mobile homes and humanitarian supplies destined for Gaza.
"[The volunteers] were not storming the border, they were known to authorities, they had made two attempts to negotiate before, they all had their passports, they had visas for Egypt if they needed," Breaky said.
"To make it clear that we were non-violent, and we weren't going to just storm the border with all these hundreds of people, we sent a small delegation of 10…across the buffer zone to negotiate the safe passage for the whole convoy," she added.
"Within a few minutes, we lost contact with them."
The group crossed the 5+5 line near Sirte, with the convoy's final communication received at 3:22pm local time, or 2:22pm GMT, according to local reports .
"We could see in the distance that they were surrounded by three white vans, and communication has been very, very sparse since then," Breaky said.
The detainees had appeared before a hearing and were subsequently returned to an immigration detention centre, local media reported. It was the first confirmed sighting of the group since their detention.
The ten activists are Alicia Armesto Nuñez of Spain, Laura Kwoczała of Poland, Jenelle Jones of the United States, Dr Maria Paula Giménez and Dr Lucas Ezequiel Aguilera of Argentina, Matias Alvarez Rodriguez of Uruguay, Ana Margarida França Santana Baptista of Portugal, Ashraf Khoja of Tunisia, and Italians Domenico Centrone and Leonarda Alberizia.
Breaky said the limited information emerging from Libya was the first indication that any form of legal process had begun.
Italy managed to secure one consular visit in Benghazi, but no legal advice was provided, she said.
"Previously, they had not been able to speak to a judge, a lawyer, like a representative, they had not been able to speak to families, they'd not been able to speak to anyone in their organisations to which they belong under which they were in Libya, and so there have just been a complete cut of communication," Breaky explained.
"[The news] was the first time that I saw anything that resembled a legal process."
The extension of the detention leaves the volunteers facing an uncertain future, while negotiations continue behind the scenes.
"There's a very small core team that is on the ground in Libya, helping with these ongoing negotiations," Breaky said.
She also highlighted the case of an eleventh volunteer, Mehdi Bouzguenda from Tunisia, who was detained on 19 May around 25 kilometres from the Tunisian-Libyan border while travelling home. Breaky called for his release alongside the other detainees.
The Italian branch of Global Sumud has staged protests demanding greater transparency from diplomatic authorities, including demonstrations on Wednesday in the hometowns of the two detained Italian volunteers.
The detention of the ten volunteers effectively brought the convoy's mission to an end.
Earlier on 25 May, participants said they were surrounded by unmarked vehicles and forced to evacuate, with some volunteers reporting physical assaults.
The convoy had brought together 230 participants from more than 20 countries, travelling with seven ambulances, 20 mobile homes and 10 aid trucks loaded with humanitarian supplies.
The group set out to deliver desperately needed assistance to Gaza, where Palestinians continue to face famine, displacement and relentless Israeli bombardment.
The mission echoed last year's Global March to Gaza , which travelled from Tunis towards Rafah but was stopped before reaching the enclave. Many participants were later arrested or deported by Egyptian authorities after the march was prevented from continuing.
Despite the detention of the delegation and the collapse of the convoy's immediate plans, Breaky said the volunteers remained focused on securing the release of their colleagues.
"We all know that the mission is not over until our comrades are free," she said. "My overwhelming feeling is that they should be safe, free and reunited with the people who love them."