Overview
- Italy's foreign minister announced on Tuesday that Domenico Centrone and Leonarda Alberizia were released after about a month in custody in Bengasi.
- They were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a land convoy that left on 15 May carrying ambulances, mobile homes and trucks with aid bound for Gaza.
- Centrone and Alberizia were arrested on 24 May after crossing into eastern Libya to seek passage for the convoy and were charged with 'ingresso illegale' (illegal entry).
- Activists say the convoy was violently cleared near Sirte by masked Haftar-aligned forces using gas and physical force, with at least one person reported unconscious and possibly injured.
- Italian authorities say quiet diplomacy and consular work secured the release and the two were due back in Rome on Wednesday, but the status of eight other activists arrested at the same time remains unresolved and calls for investigation of the clearance persist.