Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is reportedly being held in solitary confinement by Israeli authorities, according to his lawyer and family. His lawyer, Nasser Odeh, says that during a visit on 26 May, Abu Safiya was kept in harsh conditions, including medical neglect, beatings, deprivation of food and water, and shackling of his limbs. Odeh adds that Abu Safiya has chronic health conditions and urgently needs medical treatment, but has not been provided adequate care.
Odeh says Abu Safiya was transferred after being held in Negev Prison and that, as of 3 June, he was moved from Negev to Nafha Prison in southern Israel, where he was placed in solitary confinement. The Guardian reports that UN experts had demanded his release earlier this year, and that information received by Physicians for Human Rights Israel indicated he was moved to another maximum-security facility without an explanation.
Rights groups and experts describe his detention as occurring without formal indictment, with Israeli authorities categorizing him as an “unlawful combatant.” A legal appeal is reportedly under way, with a hearing scheduled for 10 June.
