UN rights body demands release of Palestinian doctor detained by Israel

Hussam Abu Safia’s family and lawyer say his life is in imminent danger and he shows signs of having been tortured.

A UN human rights group is warning that the life of Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safia is in imminent danger and is demanding his immediate release from “arbitrary” Israeli detention.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Israel’s actions violated multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The appropriate remedy would be to release [him] immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law,” it said.

The UN rights body added that Abu Safia’s case was one of many it has investigated and “may indicate a widespread or systematic practice of arbitrary detention in the country”.

Abu Safia’s lawyer Nasser Odeh has warned that the doctor’s health is in ⁠⁠grave danger after being subjected to brutal abuse on a ⁠⁠daily basis.

Rights groups and his family say he shows signs of having been regularly tortured.

The Israel Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Previously, it has rejected allegations that Abu Safia and ‌‌other doctors have been mistreated in prison.

The Israeli Supreme Court has previously declined to comment on appeals for ‌‌his release.

Abu Safia was the director of Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza when Israeli authorities detained him along with other medical staff and patients in December 2024. He has been held without charge ever since.

The paediatrician had been a prominent voice highlighting Gaza’s decimated healthcare sector and continued to work despite the death of one of his sons in an Israeli drone strike. Like many health workers before him, he was detained while caring for his patients.