The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today renewed its call for the release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the Gazan doctor who walked toward Israeli tanks in an iconic video, as fears of his abuse in Israeli detention grow.
Before his detention, Dr. Abu Safiya, was the head of the Kamal Adwan hospital and the lead physician in Gaza for MedGlobal, a Chicago-based nonprofit. MedGlobal’s co-founder, Dr. John Kahler, told NBC News in a phone interview on Thursday that he was “very afraid” that Abu Safiya won’t “make it out alive” from detention.
SEE: Fears grow for Gaza hospital chief who walked toward Israeli tanks before arrest – NBC
CAIR has previously called on all Americans, regardless of background, to demand that the American Medical Association (AMA) call for the release of Dr. Abu Safiya.
SEE: Action Alert: Demand AMA Call for the Release of Gaza Hospital Director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya
In a statement, CAIR said:
“The Israeli government has a brutal record of abusing and torturing its civilian detainees. The horrors that take place in Israeli detention centers are well known and documented. Our government and the nations of the world must pressure the Israeli government to immediately release Dr. Abu Safiya and all others held unjustly by Israel.”
In February, CAIR renewed its demand for Dr. Abu Safiya’s release after reports indicated he had been subjected to torture in Israeli custody.
SEE: CAIR Renews Demand for Release of Gaza Doc Tortured by Israel, End to Ethnic Cleansing of West Bank
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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