Liverpool: Vigil for imprisoned Palestinian doctor

Dr Hussam Abu Safiya

Source: Pax Christi

Pax Christi will be holding a vigil in Liverpool this Thursday, 24 September for Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian paediatrician from Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip who has been detained and held hostage in an Israeli detention facility since December 2024. During that time he has endured beatings and torture, which is routine in Israeli detention. Dr Safiya has also been denied medical care for a heart condition and has not received any visits by the International Red Cross. There has been largely a wall of silence

Many of Dr Safiya's medical colleagues, care workers, admin staff, nurses, physios, across a range of now decimated healthcare institutes in Gaza, have been murdered, detained, or simply vanished.

This Thursday Pax Christi will gather to remember Dr Safiya, his family and colleagues and to call again for his immediate release.

"Israel continues to hold Palestinian citizens under arbitrary administrative detention including children without any charge"- said Pax Christi member Janette Harper. "There is no accountability for what is happening behind these walls including the brutal treatment of detainees including Dr Adnan al Bursh - whom eyewitness reports state was beaten to death in Israeli custody. We and all humanitarians will continue knocking at the door until Dr Abu Safiya his colleagues and all detained are free."

On Thursday we will be collecting signatures for an open letter to our Parliamentary representatives urging them to investigate the disappearance of Dr Safiya and his colleagues .

We are in a city where government leaders will gather later this week for their party Conference . This must be a priority for all who believe in justice and human rights and we urge our government to bring immediate pressure to bear and to call for the release of Dr Safiya including strong Boycott and Sanctions

The Vigil for Dr Safiya will take place at 1pm on Thursday 24th September outside BBC Radio Merseyside, Hanover Street Liverpool.