Protest walk in support of Ognjen Marković, a student of the Faculty of Fine Arts, who is among the activists on one of the ships Sumud flotilla which is intercepted on the way to Gaza will be held on Friday (October 3) evening in Belgrade.
Students in the blockade have scheduled a gathering at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and they will walk further down Kneza Miloša Street towards Dedinje.
With the walk, they want to support the Serbian student who went on a humanitarian mission to Gaza, as well as other activists.
"After yesterday's arrest of the Sumud flotilla, including our colleague and friend Ognjen Marković, Ambassador Miroljub Petrović and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted Ognjen's family. They were told that they would take all steps to return Ognjen to Serbia as soon as possible, but we also learned that after landing in the port of Ashdod they were taken for interrogation and that their lawyers were not allowed access to it," the students said on Instagram.
As they added, no one has yet come into direct contact with Ognjen, and that Israeli military forces detained him illegally.
Photo: Printscreen FLU in blockade/XStudent Ognjen Markovic
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia announced on Thursday (October 2) that it is closely monitoring the situation of the citizen of the Republic of Serbia, a crew member of the Sumud flotilla, and in coordination with the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Tel Aviv is engaged in providing consular protection.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had a somewhat ironic response to the events.
"I followed the news last night, I saw what was happening, everything was expected. It seems to me that nobody in the world is surprised, that's why Giorgio Meloni reacted earlier and said to stop it. Some people didn't want it or didn't want it at any cost. As for fighting for our people, that's our obligation. We often had to deal with irresponsible people, we have as many of those saviors of the world as you want. Today, in the end, when they are unable to save themselves, they call the state to help. The state is, of course, always there to help and will always do everything it can," said Vučić on Thursday.
Deportation of 470 activists
Israeli police said that 470 activists, who were detained by the navy while trying to break through the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, have gone through official procedures and will be deported.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he expected the flotilla members to be expelled from Israel on Monday and Tuesday and sent to European capitals on charter flights, Reuters reports.
According to the police, the operation involved more than 600 police officers, along with prison officers and representatives of the immigration authorities, deployed in the port of Ashdod to take over the detained activists, The Times of Israel reported today.
Those arrested, who arrived on 41 boats, underwent a "thorough inspection" before being handed over to the Population and Immigration Authority and the Israeli Prison Service for further processing.
The last ship of the flotilla, the Marinet, was captured 42 nautical miles from Gaza, the organizers announced on Friday, reports the British Independent.
The Israeli Navy stopped several ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening (October 1) and detained the activists on board, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced.
Amnesty International called Israel's stopping of aid ships "an attack on international law and basic humanity."
Protests around the world
The halting of the fleet caused reactions from the international community, including leaders in Colombia, Malaysia, Brazil and Italy. The Turkish Foreign Ministry called the Israeli intercept an "act of terror".
Protests were held in numerous cities around the world.
About 15.000 protesters took to the streets in Barcelona, several thousand people gathered in Dublin, protests took place in Paris, Marseille, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Brussels, The Hague, Tunisia, Brasilia, Sydney, Istanbul, Buenos Aires...
