9 February 2026
A group of activists from various pro-Palestine organisations visited Robben island on Sunday. Photos: Matthew Hirsch
“It’s the first time I’m going to visit a jail freely,” German activist Yasemin Acar, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla‘s steering committee, told GroundUp on Sunday.
She was part of a group from the Gaza flotilla visiting Robben Island, where thousands of anti-apartheid activists were held over time. Acar, along with other members of the flotilla, was detained by Israeli authorities last year for their attempt to break the siege on Gaza.
“There’s a lot of imprisonment in Germany if you are in solidarity with Palestinians,” Acar told GroundUp. (See UN experts urge Germany to halt criminalisation and police violence against Palestinian solidarity activism)
“It’s 2026 and we are talking about an open-air prison in Gaza … the world continues to keep silent.”
Acar said more than 500 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the ceasefire in October.
The group are calling for “the immediate and unconditional” release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of children.
A person holds up a poster calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti, who is often called “Palestine’s Nelson Mandela”.
Fatima Hendricks, a South African occupational therapist and health care worker, who was jailed in Israel for six days for her participation in the flotilla, said they were calling for the release of political prisoners like Marwan Barghouti.
Barghouti, who has been jailed since 2002, is a senior political leader and is often called “Palestine’s Nelson Mandela”. There have been growing calls from around the world for his release.
Parts of an open letter by various Pro-Palestine organisations were read aloud outside Nelson Mandela’s former cell.
“Many are imprisoned without charge or trial under so-called administrative detention, an apartheid-era practice chillingly familiar to South Africans. When charges are laid, Palestinians face military courts designed to secure convictions, not justice.”
“Extreme suffering, systematic abuse, starvation, and medical neglect are institutional and policy-driven, in direct contravention of international humanitarian and international human rights law,” read the letter.
Jama Matakata, an ex-political prisoner on Robben Island, said he was impressed by the group. “When it comes to Robben Island, I have mixed feelings. It’s a reminder of a journey of sad memories. When it comes to this specific task, I am very happy. Those are the memories I want to keep,” he said.
During a briefing at the Nelson Mandela Foundation last week, Global Sumud Flotilla members announced plans to embark on another mission to end the blockade on Gaza on 29 March.