Since April, the Freedom Flotilla has been stuck in Turkey’s Haydarpaşa port. Made up of three ships, and manned by five hundred Palestine solidarity activists from all over the world, it is carrying five thousand tons of humanitarian aid destined for the Palestinian people in Gaza. The Turkish government, succumbing to pressure from Israel and its allies in Europe and the United States, is stopping the ships from setting sail.

There is no legal basis for this decision. In fact, Turkey’s actions put it in direct violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which guarantees the freedom of navigation, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which obliges all participants signatories to ensure that civil society entities are not unduly hindered, burdened, or impeded in peaceful and humanitarian missions. In the current context of genocide in Gaza, and the repeated orders by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), every support possible should be given to those trying to bring urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

Adding insult to injury, the Turkish authorities have now also refused to let another vessel — Ship Conscience — leave on a solidarity tour of European ports and have even threatened to arrest the crew. This situation has been ongoing for over fifty days now, despite the fact that the ship has successfully passed the necessary security checks and complies with all relevant regulations.