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Nothing illustrates the inversion of the international and moral order more than the genocide in Gaza and the shipment of tens of billions of dollars of weapons to Israel by Western nations,\u00a0especially<\/a>\u00a0the United States, to sustain it. Part of this inversion is the unrelenting persecution of those who denounce the genocide \u2014 especially those who risk their lives to halt it and demand the rule of law.<\/p>\n But the rule of law, it appears, is buried under the rubble in Gaza.<\/p>\n And because of that Israel is able, with barely a word of protest by Western nations \u2013\u00a0Spain<\/a>\u00a0being one of the few exceptions \u2013 to abduct 175\u00a0activists<\/a>\u00a0aboard Sumud Flotilla 500 nautical miles from Gaza and 80 nautical miles west of the Greek island of Crete.<\/p>\n This violation of the\u00a0United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/a>\u00a0was accompanied by the usual Israeli brutality. Flotilla members from the 22 vessels that were intercepted and then transferred to the Israeli vessel NAHSHON were\u00a0denied food<\/a>,\u00a0forced<\/a>\u00a0to sleep on the floor as it was flooded \u201crepeatedly\u201d with water, punched, kicked, dragged across decks with their hands tied and shot at with\u00a0rubber bullets and live ammunition<\/a>. Eventually, all but two flotilla members were transferred to Crete, with 36 requiring\u00a0medical attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two<\/a>\u00a0of the leading activists on the flotilla, the Brazilian organizer of the flotilla, Thiago Avila, and the Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek,\u00a0who<\/a>\u00a0is of Palestinian descent and who has organized Palestinian solidarity movements across Europe for over two decades, were not\u00a0allowed<\/a>\u00a0to disembark when the vessel reached Ierapetra Port in southern Crete, although the ship was in Greek territorial waters.<\/p>\n They\u00a0were kidnapped<\/a>\u00a0and taken to Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cParticipant eyewitnesses provided harrowing testimony of Abukeshek\u2019s screams echoing throughout the ship as he was subjected to systematic torture, after being separated from the others,\u201d read a\u00a0communique<\/a>\u00a0issued by The Global Sumud Flotilla.<\/p>\n Abu Keshek was blindfolded, forced to lie on his stomach \u201csince the moment of his seizure until this morning\u201d which resulted in \u201cbruising to his face and hands.\u201d Thiago was \u201cdragged face-down across the floor\u201d and beaten so severely that he passed out twice.<\/p>\n When the two activists appeared in an Israeli court there were visible\u00a0bruises<\/a>\u00a0on their faces. Thiago had trouble lifting his right hand.<\/p>\n Since their detainment, the two men have been on hunger strike. They are\u00a0accused<\/a>\u00a0of \u201cassisting the enemy during wartime\u201d and \u201cmembership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the world we now live in. The moral and the courageous are criminalized. The ruling class weaponizes the law to justify the abuse and atrocities of the lawless.<\/p>\n Here is a link to an interview I did in Italy with Thiago:<\/p>\n