16/01/2026
https://gcdhr.org/eng/letter-to-the-members-of-eu-uk-swiss-parliaments/
We address you today in light of the continued grave and systematic violations endured by Palestinian detainees inside Israeli prisons. These violations amount, under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, to acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and indeed to cases of deliberate killing as a result of torture and willful medical neglect.
Three days ago, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club revealed the death of the elderly detainee Hamza Abdullah Adwan (67 years old) in Israeli custody on 9 September 2025. He was married and the father of nine children. Mr. Adwan had been arrested in November 2024 at the Civil Administration checkpoint north of the Gaza Strip by Israeli occupation forces during their incursion into the Jabalia refugee camp. With his death, the number of Palestinian prisoners whose identities are known and who have died in Israeli detention since the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 87 palestinians.
Credible human rights data indicate that the elderly Palestinian detainee Hamza Adwan died inside Israeli prisons as a result of torture, ill-treatment, and deliberate medical neglect. The occupying authorities failed to notify his family of his death at the time it occurred, constituting a grave violation of the legal and humanitarian obligations imposed on a detaining power.
The failure of the occupation authorities to immediately inform the family of detainee Hamza Adwan of his death while in custody amounts, under international legal standards, to the crime of enforced disappearance.
As of the date of this memorandum, Israeli occupation authorities continue to withhold the body of detainee Hamza Adwan, denying his family the right to know his full fate and the right to receive his body and bury him in accordance with religious and humanitarian rites. This constitutes a form of collective punishment and a continuing violation whose legal and humanitarian consequences extend beyond death itself.
The deliberate delay in announcing the detainee’s death and the continued withholding of his body obstruct any independent forensic examination and any immediate legal accountability of those responsible, reinforcing the presumption of evidence concealment and obstruction of justice.
The acts committed against Palestinian detainees, including those that led to the death of Hamza Adwan, constitute torture as defined in Article 1 of the Convention against Torture (1984).
The deliberate denial of necessary medical treatment to an elderly and ill detainee, despite full knowledge of the severity of his condition, amounts to unlawful killing, for which the detaining authority bears responsibility. This constitutes a grave breach of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
The death of detainee Hamza Adwan under torture and medical neglect constitutes a fully established international crime and represents a genuine test of the seriousness of the international community—particularly the European Union—in upholding human dignity and enforcing the principle of non-impunity.
In light of this grave situation, we call upon you to:
1. Demand the immediate and unconditional release of the body of detainee Hamza Adwan and its handover to his family, ensuring his burial with dignity, as well as the release of all detainees’ bodies withheld by the Israeli occupation authorities;
2. Call for an independent international investigation into the death of Hamza Adwan and all deaths occurring inside Israeli prisons;
3. Exert pressure on Israeli authorities to cease all forms of torture and ill-treatment and to ensure immediate and adequate medical care for all detainees;
4. Activate European accountability mechanisms, including a review of cooperation relations and existing agreements, in light of the grave and ongoing violations;
5. Support the referral of these crimes to the competent international judicial bodies and ensure that those responsible do not enjoy impunity.
The silence of the international community, or the mere issuance of statements of concern, practically contributes to the perpetuation of these crimes and undermines the international justice system upon which the European order itself was founded. The values proclaimed by the European Union—foremost among them human dignity and the rule of law—require a firm and responsible stance toward the violations endured by Palestinian detainees.
We hope that you will adopt a clear and effective position commensurate with the gravity of these violations, in defense of human dignity and in affirmation of the principles of justice and human rights, without selectivity.
Please accept the assurances of our highest consideration.
Geneva Centre for Democracy and Human Rights – Geneva
International Justice Forum – Istanbul
International Union of Jurists – Geneva Office
We address you today in light of the continued grave and systematic violations endured by Palestinian detainees inside Israeli prisons. These violations amount, under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, to acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, an...
