Three Newfoundland activists have been abducted by the Israeli military while aboard the Conscience attempting to break the siege on Gaza and bring doctors and journalists to Gaza.
St. John’s activists Sadie Mees, Nikita Stapleton, and Devoney Ellis have been sailing to Gaza on the Conscience as part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
Many community members have been tracking their progress through live maps and livestreams on social media. As of yesterday, the Conscience was 120 nautical miles from the Gaza shore.
Last night, all livestreams became laggy before ending suddenly as the Israeli military approached the ship, presumably jamming cellular signals.
Mees, Stapleton, and Ellis were taken along with three other Canadians on board.
This comes just days after Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was abducted as part of the Sumud Flotilla making national headlines, the ‘two years of genocide’ day of action protest in St. John’s which drew hundreds of attendees on Saturday October 4, and St. John’s making history as one of the few major Canadian cities to unanimously pass an arms embargo motion, proposed by Councillor-at-Large Maggie Burton.
This announcement appears to have shaken Newfoundlanders quite significantly, with people flocking to social media to verbalize support for their community members.
Early this morning, local activists flocked to St. John’s MP Joanne Thompson’s office to demand “safe release of all members aboard the Conscience, to condemn the actions of Israel, and to demand an end to the genocide of Palestinians.”
Thompson appeared absent from her office, and another representative served protestors with an eviction notice, asking them to vacate the property.
Palestine Action YYT has been posting updates and urging people to pressure their government representatives, demanding that Canadian activists be returned home safely.
The Muse has reached out to MP Joanne Thompson for comment and will update as the story progresses.
