On January 16, 2025, WOLAS joined international legal organizations and lawyers in an urgent call for immediate action to secure the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza. Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested by Israeli forces on December 27, 2024, and has since endured severe torture, including beatings with electrical wires. He is being held under inhumane conditions at Ofer Prison. His detention represents not only a gross violation of his individual rights but also a deliberate and systematic assault on Gaza’s healthcare sector, highlighting Israel’s genocidal intent against the Palestinian people. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s arrest exemplifies the broader assault on Gaza’s healthcare system, which is essential for survival under the conditions of an ongoing genocide. His courage and unwavering commitment to his patients demand our immediate collective action.
This attack is part of Israel’s ongoing campaign to dismantle Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure and destroy the physical and psychological resilience of the Palestinian people. These actions constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law as part of Israel’s broad agenda of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment.
Our Call to Action:
- Demand Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s immediate and unconditional release, ensuring his safety and fundamental rights.
- Provide full access for international and local human rights organizations to monitor his health, facilitate medical treatment, and ensure legal representation.
- Call on Kazakhstan to fulfill its diplomatic obligations and protect Dr. Hussam as its citizen.
- Urge international mechanisms, including the UN, to investigate and prosecute crimes against Palestinian detainees, including torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detention.
- Reiterate the demand for the immediate removal of Ms. Alice Jill Edwards as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and the appointment of a neutral and impartial successor committed to fulfilling the mandate.
- Halt the genocide in Gaza by imposing comprehensive international arms embargoes on Israel, protecting civilians, and safeguarding Gaza’s health sector.
This Call Has Been Submitted to:
- UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
- Working Groups on Arbitrary Detention and Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
- UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- The Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Istanbul
- The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ankara