Sümeyye Sena Polat is a journalist and human and women’s rights activist. She participated in the Global Freedom Flotilla alongside hundreds of others and was illegally detained by Israel. Sena has also collaborated with Palestinian organizations and pro-Palestine university unions in France. 

She serves as a board member of the Women and Democracy Association (KADEM) and actively engages in numerous projects focused on women’s rights. Her work addresses issues such as Islamophobia in European countries, discrimination against hijabi women and hijabi university students in France, and racism and police violence affecting children and young people from minority communities in French suburbs. 

Sena has visited Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, documenting the stories of the last surviving witnesses of the Nakba. She has worked alongside cameramen from Gaza and the West Bank, sharing Palestinian stories with the public. Additionally, she has conducted investigations into the situation of Palestinian prisoners. 

During her participation in the flotilla, Sena was sent to Negev Prison, located 50 miles from Gaza.