Global Sumud Flotilla activist sentenced to 10 days in prison after assaulting guard

The activist was fined 10,000 shekels and given a suspended fine of 5,000 shekels for three years. Seven detainees from the flotilla remain in Israel as of Friday.

The Beersheba Magistrate’s Court convicted Spanish citizen Raïs Rigo Serviá, an activist from the Global Sumud Flotilla, of aggravated assault of a prison guard at Ketziot Prison, with the intent of obstructing the guard’s duties.

She admitted to the offenses detailed in a revised indictment as part of a plea bargain.

Deputy Court President Judge Avishai Cohen sentenced her to 10 days in imprisonment, a 10,000-shekel fine, and a 5,000-shekel suspended fine for three years.

Serviá, a 56-year-old acupuncturist from Palma de Mallorca, pleaded guilty under the revised indictment as part of a plea deal between her attorney, Adv. Hael Abu Gharara (representing her on behalf of Adalah), and representatives of the Southern Negev Police Prosecution Unit, Adv. Sharon Levy and Adv. Hila Eliyahu Pitusi.

In a separate hearing, Cohen had ordered her detained until the end of proceedings, clarifying that after deducting the days she had already spent in custody, she would effectively complete her sentence upon her sentencing. “Any continued detention under any condition is subject to the Detention Review Tribunal decision,” the judge noted.

According to the revised indictment, during her stay at Ketziot Prison, Serviá refused a guard’s order to enter her cell. Together with another detainee, she laid on the floor, held onto the other detainee, and tied their hands and feet to nearby poles to make it difficult for the guards to move them into the cell. Later, when another guard arrived to assist in moving her, Serviá attacked the guard, holding her with her left hand, digging her nails into the guard’s skin, and causing injury, according to the indictment.

As a result of the assault, the guard suffered a deep cut and redness to her left hand and required medical treatment, including disinfection and a tetanus shot.

The hearing was attended by the Spanish Consul in Israel, Lopez de Castro Garrido, and Adalah representative Lubna Touma, who translated between Spanish and Hebrew during the detention hearing.

Serviá complained about the conditions and treatment of detainees at the facility.

“I want to say that from the first day I was there against my will,” she said. “They put me in a prison where conditions were worse than for animals. They beat me, pushed us a lot, and on the fifth day, it wasn’t as they said, they attacked my friend, and I tried to defend her. When I held onto her, they grabbed my head downwards, and my glasses fell off.

After being pushed from different directions, I got up from the floor with my friends. On other days, I couldn’t go outside; we were 14 women in a cell meant for five. They didn’t give us water, the food was disgusting, I was pushed and beaten, and I didn’t get what I needed.”

In total, seven detainees from the Sumud Flotilla remain in custody in Israel and are expected to be deported on Saturday.

Meanwhile, an American flotilla activist reportedly attacked a prison officer at Givon Prison during her intake process under unclear circumstances. A police complaint has been filed.

Criminal record of flotilla activist Omar Sharir

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court released Omar Sharir, an activist from the “Freedom Flotilla,” one of three Israeli passport holders who was aboard. He had agreed to release conditions, including a 45-day ban from Gaza and a 4,000-shekel financial guarantee.

However, upon his release, he was immediately re-arrested and brought before the Tel Aviv court, where he had previously been convicted in 2024 of assaulting activist Shafi Paz in 2021, allegedly telling her: “Nazi, I’m waiting for you to die so I can piss on your grave.”

Sharir, 38, an English teacher at a Jerusalem high school, had traveled to India and had been absent from court for a year and a half. He also faces a drug case pending at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.

Two other Israelis refuse to sign release conditions

The two remaining Israeli passport holders from the flotilla continue to refuse to sign the release forms. The Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court has upheld its decision, and yesterday, the Beersheba District Court rejected an appeal against it.

The first is Huwaida Arraf, a 49-year-old Palestinian human rights lawyer from Detroit, former head of the Freedom Flotilla, who participated in the Mavi Marmara and Handala voyages. She was previously released along with other Israelis, including activist Bob Suberi, immediately after being brought to shore in Ashdod. This time, however, police have taken a tougher stance toward the Israeli participants.

The second is Zohar Regev, 55, born and raised at Kibbutz Kfar HaHoresh, now living in Germany after 14 years in Spain. She was the owner of the women’s boat to Gaza called “Zaytouna-Oliva,” which sailed towards Gaza and was seized in 2016. Regev had served for many years on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

“Unfortunately, for political reasons, the court chooses to side with the police,” said Adv. Dile Abu Salah, representing the two on behalf of Adalah.

“What other explanation can there be for the District Court ruling that there’s reasonable suspicion of infiltration, when these are citizens who have the right to enter the country and were brought to Ashdod by the army, while the Magistrate’s Court claims the offense of infiltration applies to Gaza, which isn’t even under Israeli sovereignty?” said Salah.

Judge Orit Salahov rebuked the attorney, adding a note to the record that “although not due to lack of importance,” she found it necessary to clarify that “it is inappropriate to make baseless remarks suggesting political motives on the part of the court by an attorney representing clients. Such comments are serious, and if she genuinely believed them, she should have sought the judge’s disqualification or stated so on record at the time. Since these claims are unfounded, such remarks should be avoided.”

If the two continue to refuse to sign, they will be brought again before a judge on Sunday, unless released by police earlier.