Shahidul Alam ‘abducted and taken to port by Israeli forces’, says Drik

Prominent Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam has been "abducted" along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla after Israeli forces intercepted the vessels in international waters, according to a statement from his media organisation Drik.

Drik said all those on board the Freedom Flotilla vessel "Conscience", including photographers, journalists, doctors, health workers, writers, and human rights defenders, had been detained by Israeli forces on Wednesday.

Citing Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which is representing the detained activists, Drik said: “At this moment, the Israeli Navy is taking the abductees to a port in Israel.”

The organisation described the Israeli action as a “gross violation of international law”, saying the flotilla comprised unarmed civilians sailing through international waters to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Drik said that around 6am local time in Palestine (8am Bangladesh time), the Conscience and seven other ships were forcibly seized by Israeli naval forces roughly 220km off the Gaza coast.

Before communications were cut off, passengers aboard Conscience reported that an Israeli military helicopter had attacked the vessel. Around the same time, the Israeli Navy also captured several boats operated by Thousand Madelines to Gaza, another flotilla partner.

“Israel has no legal authority to seize these ships, whose mission was to break the illegal blockade of Gaza and challenge what we call a Western-backed genocide,” Drik said.

The organisation expressed solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madelines to Gaza (TMTG), urging the international community to step up demands for Palestinian freedom.

It reiterated five key demands, including:

1. An immediate end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

2. The lifting of the blockade on the territory.

3. Unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.

4. The release of all detained journalists, health workers, and crew.

5. Full accountability for the military attack on the flotilla.

The Conscience departed Italy's Otranto on Sept 30, aiming to break Israel’s near-total media blackout on Gaza, a restriction that has prevented journalists from freely entering or reporting from the enclave for almost two years.