On May 18, 2026, Israeli authorities arrested Jubair Islam Khan, a British-Bangladeshi filmmaker and owner of the independent video production company Film Soul LTD, while he was aboard the Ramle, a vessel in the Global Sumud Flotilla, an aid convoy attempting to break the blockade on Gaza.
He was among the flotilla participants deported to Istanbul, Turkey, on May 21, after three days and three nights in Israeli custody.
In a video published on his YouTube channel, Khan alleged that flotilla participants were subjected to escalating violence. Describing conditions aboard a cargo ship where detainees were held for several days, he said they were forced to live in "increasingly appalling and inhumane conditions." Khan alleged that detainees slept in overcrowded shipping containers, were denied adequate bedding, and were repeatedly threatened with weapons. He also claimed that activists were shot at with rubber bullets after chanting "free Palestine,” stating that "the level of brutality, of aggressiveness, of the violence” increased to a level that the detainees had “not anticipated."
Adalah, a Palestinian-run legal rights group representing some of the detainees, told CPJ that all detainees had faced alleged abuses, including restricted access to lawyers, humiliation, and violence.
In a video published on X, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir can be heard yelling, “welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” while waving a large Israeli flag over dozens of detainees kneeling side by side on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs and their heads lowered to the ground. Another video shows security forces violently throwing a handcuffed activist to the ground after the activist shouts “free Palestine” at Ben Gvir. The minister also said the detainees should be imprisoned for “a long, long time.”
In response to an email requesting comment, the Israel Defense Forces told CPJ it “rejects allegations of abuse by IDF soldiers during the operations,” adding that any “concrete complaints submitted to the IDF on the matter will be examined thoroughly.” CPJ’s email requesting comment from the office of Ben-Gvir did not receive a response.