Palestinian Prisoner Breaks Silence on Sexual Torture in Israeli Detention
Sami al-Saei, a 47-year-old father of six, has defied intense social stigma to publicly describe the sexual torture he endured while detained without charge in an Israeli prison. In a powerful video posted on TikTok about 40 days after his release in June 2025, al-Saei detailed an assault that left him bleeding from his rectum for more than three weeks.
'I Could Not Stay Silent': A Survivor's Account
Al-Saei described how Israeli prison guards raped him in February 2024, laughing throughout the assault before taking a cigarette break while he lay blindfolded, handcuffed, and in agony on the floor. He recalled hearing one guard warn others "don't take a photo, don't take a photo" during the attack, suggesting awareness that crimes were being committed.
The sexual torture lasted more than 20 minutes and included beatings on his buttocks, extreme pressure applied to his genitals, and forced anal penetration with two different objects. "I tried to prevent them by clenching my muscles, but I could not. They forced it in very deep, it was extremely painful," al-Saei said in an interview about his ordeal. "I don't know how loudly I screamed from the pain."
After the assault, he collapsed twice when ordered to stand and walk. Moved to an overcrowded cell, al-Saei received no medical treatment and was forced to use wads of toilet paper to staunch the bleeding.
Systematic Abuse Documented in B'Tselem Report
The human rights organization B'Tselem released a report on Tuesday detailing what it describes as a "grave pattern of sexual violence in detention facilities and prisons" against Palestinians. The report documents extensive abuse ranging from threats of sexual assault and forced stripping to actual sexual assaults including beatings to genitals, setting dogs on prisoners, and forced anal penetration with various objects.
Yuli Novak, B'Tselem's executive director, stated: "The Israeli regime has turned its prisons into a network of torture camps for Palestinians, as part of a coordinated onslaught on Palestinian society intended to destroy their existence as a collective."
Multiple Survivor Testimonies Emerge
Tamer Qarmut, 41, who was detained by Israeli soldiers in November 2023, gave testimony to B'Tselem describing how he was beaten, attacked by a dog, and then raped by a soldier who shoved a wooden stick into his anus. "He shoved it back in, even harder, and I screamed at the top of my lungs," Qarmut said. The soldier then forced him to lick the stick.
Qarmut was held for nearly two years without charge before his release in October last year under a deal brokered by then-US President Donald Trump.
Deaths in Detention and Family Trauma
The report also documents at least 98 Palestinian deaths in Israeli jails since October 2023, with the actual toll likely substantially higher. Abdul Rahman Mirie, a 34-year-old carpenter and father of four, died in November 2023 after being detained without charge. Prisoners in nearby cells reported hearing him call out: "Brother, come help me, I'm being tortured."
His mother, Aziza Mirie, told the Guardian: "At night I keep imagining how they tortured Abdul Rahman, and what condition he was in before his death. Sometimes I find his daughter crying alone, and she asks me, 'why don't I have a father?'"
Israeli Response and International Inaction
A spokesperson for the Israeli prison service rejected the allegations in the B'Tselem report, stating: "All inmates are held in lawful custody, with due regard for their rights, including access to medical care as required and the provision of living conditions in accordance with the law."
Novak criticized the international community's response, saying: "The international community continues to grant this regime full immunity" despite condemnations of torture.
Broader Context of Detention Conditions
By January, Israel was detaining approximately 9,000 Palestinians from Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, with about half held indefinitely without charge or trial. The B'Tselem report describes how detention centers were transformed after October 2023 into facilities "dedicated to the abuse of inmates as policy," where torture became an "accepted norm."
Prisoners face inhuman living conditions including starvation rations, extreme overcrowding, and deprivation of basic hygiene. With International Committee of the Red Cross visits halted since October 2023 and prisoners denied contact with families, there is no independent oversight of detention facilities.
The Personal Cost of Speaking Out
Al-Saei has paid a high price for his public testimony, forced to move away from gossiping neighbors and struggling to find work. Haunted by nightmares about his children's future, he nevertheless stands by his decision to speak out. "It was my choice," he said, noting that during his 16 months in jail he saw clear evidence that many other prisoners had been assaulted. "Even if the others didn't speak about it, it was obvious they also had this experience."
Despite the personal consequences, al-Saei maintains: "I could not stay silent. I have a moral responsibility to say what happened to me and other prisoners."
