Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the Palestinian paediatrician and former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been nominated for the European Parliament’s 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the EU’s highest human-rights honour, nominated by the Left and Greens/EFA groups.
Abu Safiya has been held in Israeli custody since December 2024, when Israeli soldiers forcibly detained him following a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital. He has remained in detention without charge or trial.
His nomination comes amid continuing international concern over his detention and treatment. The Left says Abu Safiya has been subjected to solitary confinement, repeated assaults and denial of medical care. Campaigners and the family of the Palestinian doctor have routinely highlighted his physical state inside the prison and a United Nations inquiry commission confirmed that Abu Safia faced “continued and severe abuse”. Last month, the director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health called for urgent action to “save” the jailed doctor’s life.
The nomination highlights his role as a doctor who continued treating patients at Kamal Adwan Hospital while Israeli forces surrounded, and later abducted him from the facility.
Abu Safiya is one of six nominees for this year’s Sakharov Prize. The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Development committees are due to select three finalists on 19 October, before the winner is chosen on 22 October.
