Warning: the article contains violent descriptions
Sami al-Saei, a Palestinian journalist and prisoner released in the summer of 2025, has recounted how he was raped by Israeli guards upon his arrival at the regime's notorious Megiddo prison.
Sami al-Saei says he heard Israeli guards laughing during the rape, before they left him lying on the floor blindfolded and his hands tied to take a break to smoke a cigarette. One of the guards realized a crime was being committed and intervened, not to stop the torture, but to prevent it from being documented. Al-Saei heard him say, “Don’t take pictures, don’t take pictures” during the abuse.
He bled for more than three weeks after the rape, which occurred shortly after his arrest in February 2024. He describes sexual torture that lasted more than 20 minutes, with blows to the buttocks, strong pressure on the genitals, and anal penetration with two different objects.
"I tried to block it by tightening my muscles, but I couldn't. It was terribly painful. I don't know how loud I screamed," he said.
After the torture, he collapsed twice in helplessness when ordered to stand up and walk around, and received no medical treatment in the overcrowded cell. He was forced to use pieces of toilet paper to stop the bleeding. Sami al-Saei, 47, a father of six, was held without charge or trial until June 2025.
About 40 days after his release, he posted a video on TikTok showing the attack, defying social stigma and Israeli warnings against publicizing prison abuses.
"I couldn't remain silent. I have a moral responsibility to tell what happened to me and what happens to other prisoners," he said.
Widespread and extreme sexual violence in Israeli civilian and military prisons has been documented by domestic and international witnesses, including doctors, Israeli military prosecutors, and the UN Committee on Torture. The organization B'Tselem described a "severe pattern of sexual violence in prisons," including threats of sexual assault, forced undressing, blows to the genitals, the use of dogs, and anal penetration with various objects.
A spokesman for the Israeli Prison Service denied the report, saying all prisoners are being held legally and receive the medical care they need.
Other terrifying stories
Tamer Qarmut, 41, was arrested in November 2023 during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. He said he was accused of being a militant within 24 hours, despite having a leg injury that had left him physically disabled since his teens. He was severely beaten, attacked by a dog, and raped by a soldier using a wooden stick. He was held without trial for almost two years before being released in October last year under a deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.
B'Tselem's report shows that after October 7, 2023, the detention centers turned into a network "dedicated to the abuse of prisoners as a state policy," where torture has become the norm. The violence includes electric shocks, tear gas, burning with hot liquids or cigarettes, and the use of dogs to attack prisoners.
Prisoners are often denied medical care, causing irreversible harm, including amputations, loss of sight and hearing, and loss of life. Official figures show that at least 98 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons since October 7, 2023, and the real number may be higher.
Inhumane conditions and lack of supervision
As of January 2026, Israel was holding about 9,000 Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, about half without charge or trial. The detainees face hunger, overcrowding and a lack of hygiene. Visits by the International Red Cross have been banned since October 2023, and the detainees have no contact with their families or news from outside.
Sami al-Saei has paid a high price for speaking out: he was forced to move away from a community that judged his need to speak out about the torture he experienced in Israeli prisons, he has had difficulty finding work, and he is haunted by terrifying thoughts about his children's future.
But he doesn't regret the decision to be the voice of those who cannot speak: "It was my choice," he said, adding that during his 16 months in prison, many others were also sexually assaulted.
Source: The Guardian
