The Israeli authorities have extended the ban on legal counsel for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the detained director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, until February 6.
Israel has further extended the ban on access to legal counsel for the detained director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, to February 6, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has said.
Detained on December 27 by Israeli occupation forces during a raid on the hospital, Dr Abu Safiya “is being held without charges,” under laws that “have been systematically applied to detain Palestinian residents of Gaza, denying them basic human rights and legal safeguards,” Al Mezan said in a statement on Friday.
Israeli authorities have extended the ban preventing Dr. Abu Safiya from meeting his legal representative until 6 Feb.
We urgently call for his immediate release. At the very least, our lawyer must be granted immediate access to assess his conditions.https://t.co/BZF9uMm7XX
— Al-Mezan الميزان (@AlMezanCenter) January 24, 2025
“Earlier this week, Israeli authorities once again extended the ban prohibiting Dr. Abu Safiya from meeting with his legal representative, now in place until 6 February 2025,” the Gaza-based organization stated, renewing its call for the doctor’s “immediate and unconditional” release.
“At a bare minimum, we urgently demand immediate access for our lawyer, appointed by the family of Dr. Abu Safiya as his legal representative, to independently assess his conditions,” Al Mezan said.
According to the organization, Dr. Abu Safiya was initially detained under the Unlawful Combatants Law.
The latest extension of his detention “was sanctioned through the Criminal Procedure Law, which is designed to extend the validity of harsh, special detention procedures for suspects of security offenses,” it noted.
Held at Sde Teiman, Ofer Prison
On January 9, the Magistrates’ Court of Ashkelon extended his detention without charges until February 13.
“He was denied access to his legal counsel and participated in the hearing via video call,” the organization stated.
After the hearing, he was transferred to Ofer Prison, in the occupied West Bank, where he is currently being held, the statement added.
Dr. Abu Safiya – Israel Extends Detention, Maintains Legal Counsel Ban
Al-Mezan emphasized that Israeli authorities have denied Dr. Abu Safiya access to legal counsel since his capture, “in blatant violation of his fundamental rights under international law.”
Ensuring that he meets with his lawyer “is essential not only for safeguarding his legal rights but also for conducting an independent assessment of his current physical and psychological condition,” said the organization. This is due to “inhumane arrest and detention practices, including initial enforced disappearance.”
Initial Denial of Capture
In the initial days following his abduction, Israeli authorities denied having Dr. Abu Safiya in their custody, “despite numerous eyewitnesses reporting that he was captured by Israeli forces along with medical personnel, patients, and other civilians present at Kamal Adwan Hospital.”
No one knows the condition of Dr Abu Safiya; despite the ceasefire, don’t stop demanding his release #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiya @dr_hussam_73 pic.twitter.com/VjLgkxPI9Q
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) January 23, 2025
It was not until 5 January 2025 that Israeli authorities officially notified Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) that Dr. Abu Safiya was in their custody, said Al Mezan.
“However, they refused to disclose his whereabouts. This means that Dr. Abu Safiya was effectively subjected to enforced disappearance for several days during the early stages of his detention,” the organization stressed.
Concerns of Torture
According to the testimonies of released detainees, Dr. Abu Safiya was held at the notorious the Sde Teiman military camp in the early days of his arbitrary detention.
‘I’ve Been Humiliated’ – Freed Detainees Recount Meeting with Dr. Abu Safiya
“Al Mezan expresses profound alarm for Dr. Abu Safiya’s safety and well-being, fearing that he may be subjected to severe torture, retaliation, or other forms of coercion, particularly given the ongoing and deliberate denial of access to a lawyer,” the organization said.
Al Mezan said it has raised Dr. Abu Safiya’s case with relevant United Nations (UN) Special Procedures, including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, and the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
Amnesty International’s Appeal
Various human rights groups have added to the call for the release of Dr. Abu Safiya, including Amnesty International.
Last week, the organization wrote to Brigadier General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the military advocate general for the Israeli army, demanding the immediate release of Dr. Abu Safiya.
⚠️ On 27 December 2024, the #Israeli #military raided Kamal Adwan hospital in Mashrou’ Beit Lahiya and arbitrarily detained its director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, along with other medical staff and patients. pic.twitter.com/ELWOlnzz4I
— Amnesty MENA (@AmnestyMENA) January 15, 2025
Testimonies collected by Amnesty International and other human rights groups “reveal a dreadful reality inside Israeli prisons and detention centres, where Palestinian detainees, including health workers, face systematic torture and other ill-treatment and are denied their right to a fair trial and due process, along with access to adequate food and medical care,” the letter stated.
“In light of this, and the ongoing failure of Israeli authorities to grant independent monitors access to detention centres, we are extremely concerned for the life and wellbeing of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya,” it added.
‘Serious Violations’ of IHL
Amnesty said that “by arresting the doctor arbitrarily, refusing to disclose his whereabouts and refusing to grant him access to legal counsel, Israeli forces committed serious violations of international law, including the crime of enforced disappearance.”
DO NOT FORGET HIM!
It has been 28 Days since we got an update from Dr.Hussam Abu Safiya
He was abducted from Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza pic.twitter.com/eXwAVdJ7Zv
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) January 24, 2025
The rights group urged the advocate general to secure the release of Dr. Abu Safiya and all other Palestinians, including health workers, forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily detained by Israel.
“Pending Dr Hussam Abu Safiya’s release, I urge you to disclose his whereabouts and ensure his protection from all forms of torture and other ill-treatment, including coercion,” the letter noted.
Also pending his release, the doctor “must be granted access to legal counsel and adequate medical care while in detention.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
The Nazis in Palestine keep showing just how sick and twisted they are: it’s no wonder that the world hates the Jews. The Fourth Reich is weak and ineffectual, when all they can do is murder children, and detain good people who want to help humanity. Worse still; they rape male detainees, shoot 5 year olds and elderly women…the ZioNazis truly are a cancer in our peaceful world. This will not stop. We need to starve them, and drive them out like the rats they are.
Would it be possible to pardon for their atrocities ??
Bravo, nontheless !