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View all search resultsInside Israel’s container prison: Indonesians recount beatings, abuse
Detainees said torture, physical violence, sexual abuse and restricted access to food and water became part of daily life during four days in custody
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Andre Prasetyo Nugroho, one of the Indonesian members of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla which was detained by Israeli forces after the flotilla’s vessels were intercepted in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, shows injuries caused by Israeli soldiers on his forearm upon arrival on May 24, 2026, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
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fter four days at sea attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and another four confined inside an overcrowded container turned prison by Israeli forces, 24-year-old activist Hendro Prasetyo said he returned with many emotions, but fear was not among them. What grew instead, he said, was outrage and determination.
Earlier in March, Hendro, a member of the Islamic humanitarian group SMART 171, was invited to join the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) convoy, a humanitarian mission carrying symbolic aid to Gaza while seeking to draw global attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian exclave.
Having followed reports of Israeli violations against Palestinians for years, Hendro decided to join the mission despite understanding the risks faced by previous Gaza-bound convoys. On May 14, he boarded the Kasr-1, one of around 50 vessels departing from Turkey as part of the flotilla, after undergoing training on how to respond if intercepted by Israeli forces.
So when news spread on May 18 through the convoy’s group chat that Israeli forces had begun intercepting several vessels near Cyprus, including one carrying three Indonesians, Hendro’s ship immediately changed course in an attempt to avoid capture. The effort failed. A day later, Israeli forces boarded the Kasr-1.
Communication devices were confiscated and mobile phones thrown into the sea, immediately cutting activists off from the outside world.
Read also: Indonesia joins outrage over flotilla detainee abuse
"They were immediately aggressive," Hendro told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday on the sidelines of an event held by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to mark the safe return of the nine Indonesian participants involved in the convoy.
