The interception by Israeli occupying forces of the “Global Resilience Flotilla” in international waters, followed by the detention and alleged torture of hundreds of civilian activists and humanitarian volunteers, has sparked a wide wave of legal and diplomatic condemnation. Numerous consistent testimonies report serious violations suffered by detainees, including physical and sexual assaults, ill-treatment, humiliation, and psychological torture.

Alkarama has sent a letter to the Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the United Nations Office in Geneva, asking it to engage with the Tunisian authorities to ensure the implementation of Opinions No. 2/2025 and No.

On 12 May 2026, Alkarama submitted to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) the cases of three Syrian brothers, Fouad Ahmed Doum, Maher Ahmed Doum and Reda Ahmed Doum, who were arbitrarily arrested and subsequently disappeared in Homs in September 2011. 

The Unknown Fate of the DOUM Brothers 

On 15 April 2026, Alkarama submitted its annual contribution to the UN Secretary-General's report on intimidation and reprisals against persons cooperating with United Nations human rights mechanisms.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has urged Tunisia to halt the escalating crackdown targeting civil society organizations, journalists, human rights defenders, opposition figures, activists, and judges through criminal prosecutions and administrative restrictions. 

On World Press Freedom Day, observed on May 3, the outlook in the Arab world remains troubling, with a clear decline in media freedoms. Journalists are facing mounting restrictions, while legal frameworks and security tools are being used to silence independent voices. Freedom of expression, however, is a fundamental right protected under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Syrian government has received five of its nationals who had been arbitrarily detained by the authorities in Benghazi affiliated to retired Marshal Khalifa Haftar, after their arrest for celebrating the fall of the former regime in their country and the announcement of the “liberation” of the capital Damascus in December 2024. 

In Iraq, the Yemeni detainee Hasna Ali Yahya Hussayn suffers from chronic illnesses and endures extremely harsh detention conditions, according to human rights sources cited by Alkarama. 

Alkarama has learned that the Syrian authorities have managed to bring back the young Syrian Azmi Derri Mohamed Al Haddar to his country after 18 years of arbitrary detention and hardship in Iraqi prisons, linked to allegations of illegal border crossing and involvement with an armed group, for which he had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.