More than 100 US organisations urge release of Palestinian-American student Sama Safi

More than 100 US organizations have called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take urgent action to secure the release of Palestinian-American student Sama Safi, who has been held by Israel since June and whose lawyer says she requires specialized medical treatment.

Safi, 20, is a psychology student at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces arrested her in Birzeit on June 2, along with two other students and a university graduate.

She is being held at Damon Prison, near Haifa in northern Israel. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, the facility currently holds more than 90 Palestinian female prisoners, including minors and pregnant women.

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In a letter addressed to Rubio, the organizations said Safi suffers from a “complex and serious chronic health condition” and described her detention as arbitrary and unlawful. They called on the US government to intervene for her immediate release.

Israeli authorities have accused Safi of membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which Israel and the United States designate as a terrorist organization. Her lawyer, Lea Tsemel, has denied the allegation on her behalf.

Tsemel told AFP that Safi requires regular medical treatment that is available in Rome and said Israeli authorities had previously granted her permission to travel abroad twice for treatment. The defense is now seeking her release on bail.

According to Tsemel, Safi’s condition could deteriorate rapidly without continuous specialized treatment, and she expressed concern that conditions in detention could further affect her health.

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