The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today renewed its demand for the release of a Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, who has reportedly been subjected to torture in Israeli custody.
CAIR also called for an end to the ethnic cleansing being conducted by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya has told a legal representative of “the torture and abuse” he was subjected to since being detained by Israeli occupation forces 47 days ago. Dr. Abu Safiya met with his lawyer for the first time today after he was forcibly taken, along with several medical staff, patients and civilians, from the northern Gaza hospital on December 27.
Since the start of the Israeli military operation “Iron Wall”, on 21 January, at least 45.000 Palestinians in the northern West Bank have been forcibly displaced and 33 have been killed, including 12 children.
Israeli military operation displaces 40,000 in the West Bank | UN News
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is a hostage of the far-right Israeli government, and he must go free before he suffers more abuse. Torturing a doctor who worked to save lives in Gaza is par for the course for the genocidal war criminals of the Israeli government. We urge the Trump administration to demand his release and to uphold the ceasefire agreement so that all hostages and political prisoners can go free as soon as humanly possible.”
CAIR recently called for the American Medical Association (AMA) to condemn Israel’s attacks on medical facilities in Gaza.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com