๐จURGENT: Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyaโs life is in immediate danger, Physicians for Human Rights Israel and his lawyer warned Saturday, after a prison visit revealed the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital bearing fresh, severe injuries to his head, eyes, ears, and neck, so disfigured his own attorney initially struggled to recognize him.
๐นAttorney Nasser Odeh, who saw Abu Safiya Thursday at the underground Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan Prison, said he arrived shackled hand and foot, escorted by masked guards, struggling to breathe and speak, unable to sit upright, and repeatedly on the verge of losing consciousness.
๐นAbu Safiya told him that after his Supreme Court appeal was heard June 10, four or five guards entered his solitary cell at Ganot Prison and beat him with a hammer and batons, and that since his June 24 transfer to Rakefet he has been beaten daily, losing consciousness several times without receiving medical treatment.
๐นโThis is the last time you will see me,โ he told his lawyer. โThey brought me here to kill me. I donโt see myself surviving. This is the end.โ
๐นPHRI notes the escalation in torture began directly after Abu Safiya challenged his detention in court. He has been held without charge since December 27, 2024, under Israelโs Unlawful Combatants Law.
๐นThe group has appealed to Israelโs attorney general and prison service demanding his immediate transfer, an independent medical examination, and an urgent judicial visit โbefore it is too late.โ
Photo: Amnesty International