Zaytouna-Oliva: Malaysia working towards early release of Dr Fauziah

PETALING JAYA: The Foreign Affairs Ministry is monitoring the developments over the detention of the boat Zaytouna–Oliva, in which Malaysian Dr Fauziah Hasan is among the 13 members on the Women's Boat to Gaza (WBG) mission.
It said in a statement today it was in communication with several parties to ensure the safety and well-being of Dr Fauziah, and was working towards her early release.
MyCare chairman Associate Professor Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor said the 13 activists and crew members of WBG detained by the Israeli Navy are safe.
He said they received the information on the well-being of the activists and crews from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), a solidarity movement from all over the world aimed at ending the siege of Gaza.
Hafidzi said the boat was intercepted by the Israeli Navy on Wednesday night off the Gaza coast and were currently being held at the Ashdod Port.
Viva Palestina Malaysia, a local Palestinian rights non-governmental organisation, had appealed to the Government to ensure the safety of the participants, who were seeking to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.
The WBG was in the final phase of its voyage from Barcelona when it was intercepted by the Israeli and taken to Ashdod in Israel.
"I hope the government will monitor the WBG mission and ensure the safety of Dr Fauziah, consultant at the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, and her colleagues," its chairman Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin chairman said in a statement.
After losing contact with the Zaytouna-Oliva, WBG released a series of pre-recorded videos featuring Dr Fauziah and several other crewmembers appealing to world leaders to take action against their illegal detention.
"I am right now being detained illegally by the Israeli regime. I appeal to all the world leaders, the people of Malaysia and the Government of Malaysia and all peace-loving people throughout the world to exert all action to release us from this illegal detention by the Israeli regime" Dr Fauziah, who is also on the board of trustees of MyCare, had said in the video.