UK tribunal dismisses pro-Israel attempt to suspend Ghassan Abu Sittah's medical license
UK tribunal dismisses pro-Israel attempt to suspend Ghassan Abu Sittah's medical license
The British-Palestinian doctor and activist won against attempts to suspend his medical license by a pro-Israeli group.
2 min read
Palestinian origin British rector of University of Glasgow, Ghassan Abu-Sittah, who is prevented to enter Germany by the airport security, attends a protest against the police break up Palestine Congress in Berlin, in London, United Kingdom [Getty]
Renowned British-Palestinian doctor and activist Ghassan Abu Sittah has been fully cleared after an attempt by the pro-Israel group UK Lawyers For Israel (UKLFI) to revoke his medical license was firmly rejected by the Interim Orders Tribunal, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) announced on Tuesday.
The General Medical Council (GMC) filed the suspension request as part of an ongoing investigation, the ICJP confirmed.
The complaint was initially brought forward by UKLFI, who claimed that Abu Sittah was "unfit" to continue practising medicine over his social media posts and called for his license to be revoked.
The UKLFI attempted "to tarnish Professor Abu Sittah's esteemed reputation and diminish his standing as a prominent figure within the British Palestinian community", the ICJP said.
Represented by a team of lawyers including ICJP director Tayab Ali, Abu Sittah reaffirmed in his defence statement that the complaint was driven by political motivation.
The plastic and reconstructive surgeon also clarified that he was not the author of several posts in question and highlighted that some had been inaccurately translated.
"The Tribunal were concerned by UKLFI’s inability to provide verification of translations of the Arabic language posts in question," the ICJP said in a statement.
"The Tribunal also dismissed UKLFI’s arguments that there was a risk to patients or members of the public due to the social media posts, as there was no evidence that patient safety would be compromised."
The rights group said that several testimonies were considered in support of Abu Sittah’s professional conduct, including one from a British-Israeli colleague who attested to his fair and ethical treatment of patients.
Abu Sittah, also the rector of the University of Glasgow, served in Gaza’s hospitals during the onset of Israel’s war on the enclave, providing critical medical care amidst the conflict.
Following his work in Gaza, Dr. Sittah provided testimony to the UK’s Metropolitan Police War Crimes Unit in London. His evidence is contributing to an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into alleged war crimes committed during the conflict.
However, he has been continually targeted for his pro-Palestine stance, as he previously was denied entry into France, Germany and the Netherlands after he spoke at a pro-Palestine conference in Berlin earlier this year.
More In News
