This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the detained director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, has been nominated for the European Parliament’s 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the parliament announced Thursday, Anadolu reports.
Abu Safiya was nominated by the Greens and The Left political groups as one of six candidates for the annual award, which recognizes individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Abu Safiya, a Palestinian pediatrician and former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been held in Israeli custody since his detention by Israeli forces in December 2024.
He has been detained without charge or trial, with Israel alleging that Abu Safiya is affiliated with Hamas, an allegation his lawyers and family have denied.
Rights groups have also raised concerns about his health and treatment in custody.
The parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Development committees are due to vote on a shortlist of three nominees on Oct. 19 in Strasbourg, while the laureate is scheduled to be selected on Oct. 22.
The other 2026 Sakharov Prize nominees are El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, nominated by the Europe of Sovereign Nations group; the International Criminal Court and its officials, nominated by the Socialists and Democrats; and Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, nominated by the European People’s Party and European Conservatives and Reformists.
The remaining nominees are Iranian activists Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, nominated by Patriots for Europe, and Standing Together, an Israeli Jewish-Palestinian grassroots movement, nominated by Renew Europe.
READ: Israeli army attacks NAZA film, distances itself from Gaza crimes
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon with airstrikes, home explosions, artillery fire
- Iran summons British ambassador for claims linking Tehran to RAF Fairford plot
- Japan calls for ‘momentum for diplomacy’ to end US-Iran war
- Gaza genocide continues a year after ‘ceasefire’, Medical Aid for Palestinians warns
- Humiliation for Israel loyalists as Macklemore’s ‘Free Palestine’ tour sells out despite attempts to silence him
- Trivialising memory with gratuitous gratitude
- Yemeni army says 30 Houthis killed, 50 wounded in clashes south of Taiz
- 5 killed, 47 injured in RSF drone attack on university dormitory in Sudan: Doctors group
- A shield, not a sword: what the Makkah pact’s first test reveals
- Israeli minister who champions Tommy Robinson brands Shabana Mahmood an ‘Islamist’
- Detained Gaza hospital director Abu Safiya nominated for European Parliament human rights prize
- Trump declines to endorse Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections
- UK government urged to end ban on Palestine Action group
- Why Indonesians should boycott the Israel & New Breed concert in Jakarta
- Israeli army attacks NAZA film, distances itself from Gaza crimes
- Israel’s Supreme Court hears appeals by Arab candidates barred from Knesset elections
- UN official warns inaction on Hormuz fertilizer flows could push millions into food insecurity
- Iraqi prime minister sets June 30 deadline to disarm groups outside state control
- Hundreds of occupiers storm ‘Joseph’s Tomb’ under Israeli military protection
- Americans are paying the price to preserve Israel’s nuclear hegemony
- UK’s ‘double lock’ on arms exports to Israel has led to no new licence suspensions, CAAT says
- Denial as a way of life: Netanyahu on Egyptian warnings about 7th October
- Pro-Iran Iraqi factions say they are ‘not bound by any timeline or agreement’ on weapons
- Settlers attack farmers, prevent olive harvesting in Salfit
- US lifts policy of denying military export licenses for Syria
- Mohammed bin Salman: Establishing an independent Palestinian state remains a steadfast Saudi goal
- Egyptian minister rejects Israeli concerns over Sinai railway project
- How Israel destabilizes the Middle East: Denying sovereignty and the right to exist
- Source: Hamas leadership delegation arrives in Cairo for electoral alliance talks
- Hassan Salameh’s fiancée fears he may have been assaulted after Ben-Gvir’s death threat
- Bodies of recovered victims laid to rest in Gaza
- Podcast by Jasim Al-Azzawi with Larry Johnson: Why Do American Liberation Projects End in Disaster?
- Israeli circus in the UN General Assembly
- Sudan extends Adre border crossing with Chad for humanitarian aid for 3 months
- Benkirane declines meeting with newly designated PM Mansouri
- UNICEF: 1,317 children killed or injured in Lebanon
- Tehran receives US response to Hormuz reopening proposal, but differences remain over implementation
- US provides Tunisia with $1m in security equipment to support counter-terrorism efforts
- How Gaza’s genocide is reshaping US domestic politics
- While Gaza dominates the UN, these are the people keeping it alive
- US has ‘virtually total control’ of Strait of Hormuz: Trump
- Direct talks with Israel only way to regain Lebanese territory: Foreign minister
- 263 Palestinian journalists killed since start of Israel’s war on Gaza: Media office
- Switzerland says violence level ‘cannot be tolerated’ as it condemns recent West Bank occupier attack
- Saudi crown prince says ‘Mecca Defense Alliance’ with Turkiye, Pakistan aims to bolster regional stability
- Israel’s Supreme Court to hear appeals against disqualification of Arab candidates
- Greek Education Ministry reportedly urges universities to expand academic cooperation with Israel
- Trump hails Iraq’s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as US forces leave
- Israeli restrictions on 65% of Gaza’s land ‘main obstacle’ to aid, shelter: UN
- ‘Strong indication’ of Iran’s involvement in suspected plot near RAF base: UK PM
