Today Amnesty International USA issued an emergency appeal to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asking him to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a prominent Palestinian pediatrician who is facing an imminent threat to his life due to torture and other ill-treatment and denial of adequate medical care while in Israeli detention.
“Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s lawyer reported that he was barely recognizable and on the verge of losing consciousness after being severely and repeatedly beaten at the hands of the Israeli Prison Service,” said Nadia Daar, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA. “It is unconscionable that after providing life-saving care to his patients in the occupied Gaza Strip, he continues to be detained without any justification and subjected to physical and psychological abuse and prolonged solitary confinement.”
During that visit on July 2, 2026, Dr. Abu Safiya told his lawyer, “This is the last time you’ll see me…they brought me here to kill me.”
In the letter, Amnesty International USA called on Secretary Rubio to urgently take action to secure Dr. Abu Safiya’s immediate and unconditional release and to ensure that he is fully protected from further abuses and provided adequate medical care, food, and hygiene. The organization also called on Secretary Rubio to bring U.S. assistance in line with Congressionally mandated safeguards under the Leahy Law.
Specifically, the Leahy Law mandates that the U.S. cannot provide financial or military assistance to any foreign security forces that are committing gross violations of human rights, which Amnesty International has documented in the context of Dr. Abu Safiya’s case and that of other Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities.
“Secretary Rubio and the U.S. Department of State must do everything in their power to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya,” said Daar. “The U.S. must not look away, and time is running out to save this man’s life.”
Dr. Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, has been unlawfully, arbitrarily detained without charge or trial since December 27, 2024. He is currently being detained in Rakevet detention center, an underground section beneath the Ayalon prison complex located in Ramla, Israel, where people, mostly Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip, are subjected to systematic torture and other inhumane treatment. Since June 3, 2026, Dr. Abu Safiya has been held in solitary confinement exceeding the 15 consecutive days permitted under the Nelson Mandela Rules, which violates the prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment.
Amnesty International will continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all other Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel, including other health workers. Amnesty International is also demanding that independent monitors, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, be granted immediate access to Dr. Abu Safiya and all other Palestinians currently being detained.
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