Alicia Armesto, a journalist and the technical secretary of the Madrid Journalists’ Union (SPM) – part of the Federation of Journalists’ Unions (FeSP) – was detained alongside other nine activists by the Libyan National Army. The group was held on 24 May while approaching a military checkpoint in Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi, with a humanitarian convoy on their way to Gaza, Palestine. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) have joined their affiliate, the FeSP, in urging the Spanish government to do everything in its power to ensure the immediate release of Armesto and to guarantee her safety and physical integrity. The federations demand the immediate and unconditional release of all members of the humanitarian convoy who have been detained in Libya.
Alicia Armesto, a journalist and the technical secretary of the Madrid Journalists’ Union (SPM), was detained with nine otheractivists on 24 May at a military checkpoint in Sirte, Libya. They were part of an overland convoy belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla movement, a civilian-led initiative aiming to break the illegal siege of Gaza imposed by Israel.
On 25 May, Libyan authorities announced the activists’ detention and accused them of violating entry permit procedures, despite all holding valid visas to enter Libya legally.
On 2 June, they were brought before the Attorney General in Benghazi, who issued an extension of their detention for an additional ten days. According to the Global Sumud Flotilla, the activists were returned to the Illegal Immigration Detention Facility.
The IFJ and the EFJ are concerned about the conditions in which Armesto and the other activists are being held, and they hold the Libyan authorities fully responsible for their safety and physical wellbeing.
The SPM and the FeSP have been campaigning for the release of Armesto since her arrest.
In the autumn of 2025, Armesto took part in the Gaza flotilla, where she was detained and later released by Israel along with other international activists.
“Alicia Armesto is an employee oftheMadrid Journalists’ Union (SPM) and a member of our affiliated union, FeSP. We express our full solidarity with our comrade and her family and call for her immediate release. The detention of journalists and activists engaged in international solidarity missions is contrary to international law and undermines the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful engagement,” said the IFJ and the EFJ.
‘We urge the Spanish government to do everything in its power to ensure the immediate release of Armesto, and to guarantee her safety and physical wellbeing. Furthermore, we hold the Libyan authorities fully responsible for the safety of the detained activists and call on the authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally”.
Source: EFJ
