No end to torture of Gaza doctor Abu Safia in Israeli prison: What to know

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Jailed Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia continues to face abuse under Israeli detention, according to his lawyer, raising renewed concerns about his safety inside the prison.

Israel abducted Abu Safia on December 27, 2024 from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza for defying Israeli orders to evacuate the hospital – one of the last remaining functioning medical facilities at the time. Israel has killed hundreds of medics and destroyed or damaged almost all of Gaza’s hospitals as part of its push to cripple the enclave’s healthcare system.

What is Abu Safia’s latest testimony?

The jailed doctor’s latest testimony was conveyed by his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, according to a statement on Wednesday by Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI). Odeh visited Abu Safia in the Rakefet detention facility inside Nitzan Prison on August 30.

Abu Safia said Israeli prison guards continue to beat him, deprive him of sleep, and threaten him against sharing the conditions of his detention with his lawyer.

Guards assault the doctor by “punching and kicking him and beating him with batons across his body, including sensitive areas”, according to the statement from PHRI.

Abu Safia is also “deliberately” deprived of sleep through the use of loudspeakers and other noise throughout the night, PHRI said.

What else has Abu Safia experienced during his detention?

Rights groups and his family have long said he shows signs of having been regularly tortured.

The doctor has been held in solitary confinement at the underground Rakefet facility, where he has been subjected to daily violence and beatings, his lawyer has said in the past.

At one point, his injuries were so severe – with “fresh and serious bruises on his head, around his eyes, on his ears, and on his neck”, that his lawyer had trouble recognising him, PHRI, the Israeli rights group, said in July.

In June, footage of Abu Safia appearing via videolink before an Israeli court showed him looking noticeably thinner in his face and around his abdomen.

On August 10, he was transferred from Rafeket to the prison service’s medical centre at Ramla prison, which PHRI has stated “in itself indicates serious medical needs that cannot be adequately addressed in ordinary prison wards”.

What are rights groups saying?

The jailed Gaza doctor’s testimony comes as PHRI pursues legal proceedings demanding that an independent physician examine him – a request submitted to the Israel Prison Service on July 7 but which has not yet been approved, said the organisation.

Abu Safia has also petitioned an Israeli administrative court through the group, while the Israel Prison Service recently requested additional time to submit its response.

The Israeli rights group has said “there is no justification for further delay.”

When was Abu Safia arrested and why?

There are no charges against the doctor and he has not undergone any trial, as he is held under Israel’s unlawful combatant law – a policy it has used to hold Palestinians for prolonged periods without trial.

The Israeli forces abducted the doctor after raiding the Kamal Adwan Hospital, which was rendered destroyed. He had refused to evacuate the hospital.

Before his detention, he had been a prominent voice highlighting Gaza’s decimated healthcare sector during Israel’s genocide and continued to work despite the death of one of his sons in an Israeli drone attack.

At least 13 other Palestinian doctors from Gaza have been imprisoned for more than a year and a half without charges or due process, according to PHRI.

“Our central demand remains unchanged: The release of the 14 physicians from Gaza, including Dr Abu Safia, so that they can reunite with their families and resume their medical duties,” the organisation said in its statement on Wednesday.

What has been the international response to Abu Safia’s arrest?

In July, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry ⁠on the Occupied Palestinian Territory called for Israel to immediately release Abu Safia. The commission also urged Israeli authorities to provide him with immediate independent medical care.

Leading human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also petitioned for his release and an end to his torture in Israeli custody.

How have the Palestinians been treated inside Israeli prisons?

The UN commission’s July report found that Israeli authorities’ reported conduct towards Abu Safia reflects a broader pattern of violations that it identified in previous reports. The commission has found that torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees is widespread and systematic.

It has called on Israel to end its practices of arbitrary detention and torture, and has urged that independent medical experts, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and human rights monitors be given unhindered access to places of detention.

According to PHRI, Israel’s policy of torture in prisons against Palestinian detainees has killed at least 105 people since October 2023.

Israel is currently holding more than 9,400 prisoners, including 92 women and more than 370 children, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.

Palestinians jailed by Israel have faced widespread abuse in custody, including routine beatings, starvation and sexual assault. Former Palestinian detainees have told Al Jazeera how they suffered dehumanising treatment by guards and soldiers, including torture and sexual violence.

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