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”
“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.
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.
