KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — The 23 Malaysians in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) mission who were detained by the Zionist regime on Thursday will be flown out to Istanbul today on a special flight arranged by Turkey, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said all 23 have been freed and are on their way to Ramon Airport in southern Israel.
“Following discussions with the Malaysian intelligence chief in Ankara, along with our ambassador and the Malaysian embassy there, it was decided they should stay in Istanbul for about one to one and a half days to undergo health checks due to the trauma and stress resulting from Israel’s harsh and cruel actions.
“I have agreed to this, and they are expected to come home either tomorrow night or the day after,” he said in a Facebook Live broadcast today.
Anwar, who is also patron of Sumud Nusantara, said the successful freeing and repatriation of the Malaysian activists from Israeli detention was the result of a long diplomatic effort.
He said it involved tight international coordination, including through discussions between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, United States State Secretary Marco Rubio, and the Jordan government, as well as between Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Anwar said he was also involved in the effort, having engaged with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Turkey internal security head Ibrahim Kalin.
The prime minister said the planning and negotiations to bring the activists home weren’t limited to just the safety of Malaysian and Turkish GSF participants.
“We discussed them all, including those from Europe and our friends Indonesia and other countries who were all together in the Sumud Flotilla convoy,” he added.
On Thursday, 23 Malaysian activists were detained by Zionist regime forces after their GSF convoy boats were intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea Red Zone R3, and were transported to Ashdod port in Israel.
The detained Malaysians are singer Heliza Helmi and her sister, Nur Hazwani Afiqah, who were aboard the Hio; Nurfarahin Romli and Danish Nazran Murad who were aboard the Grande Blu; singer Zizi Kirana aboard the Huga; Musa Nuwayri, Iylia Balqis and Sul Aidil aboard the Alma; Haikal Abdullah, Muaz Zainal, Zulfadhli Khiduddin and Rusydi Ramli aboard the Sirius; Razali Awang on the Inana; influencer Nurul Hidayah Mohd Amin, also known as Ardell Aryana, on the Mikeno; PU Rahmat, Norhelmi Ab Ghani, Mohd Asmawi Mukhtar and Norazman Ishak aboard the Estrella; Zainal Rashid and Ustaz Muhammad on the Fair Lady; and Muhammad Hareez Adzrami, also known as Haroqs, Muhd Haikal Luqman Zulkefli and Taufiq Mohd Razif on the Free Willy.
The GSF drew over 500 activists from 45 countries and sailed towards Gaza as a symbol of solidarity and to break Israel’s siege on the Palestine enclave. They carried humanitarian aid for the people suffering under Israel’s aggression there.
