Washington DC - Representative Ayanna Pressley is calling for the release of Palestinian-American student Sama Safi, who has been detained by Israel for over two months.

Safi is a psychology student at Birzeit University who grew up in Palestine but regularly visited her family in Florida, where her mother was raised, per The Guardian.

The 20-year-old was taken into custody when Israeli soldiers stormed her family's home in the occupied West Bank at around 3:00 AM on June 2.

Safi's family said she has a chronic autoinflammatory disease and is not receiving proper medical care in Israeli custody.

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"I recently met with Sama's parents to hear their story. Amidst profound trauma, they summoned great clarity and courage to advocate for their child, who reports having endured inhumane conditions in detention," Pressley posted on X on Tuesday.

"According to Sama's attorney, there is little credible evidence that would warrant her continued detention, and with every day that passes, her chronic health condition worsens."

Safi was arrested along with three other women after they were apparently accused of involvement in the Qutub student activist organization. Her lawyers say she was not part of the organization but emphasized the group is not illegal, The Guardian reported.

"I’ve been calling on the Trump Administration to secure Sama's immediate release, continued access to medical care, and end all unjust and arbitrary detentions. And I’ll keep fighting for Sama's release and demanding accountability from the Israeli government and the Trump Administration," Pressley promised.

Senator Chris Van Hollen previously demanded Safi's immediate release. This week, he mentioned her case while calling for the resignation of US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, whom he described as "an apologist for the extremist government in Israel."

As of December 2025, the Israel Prison Service was holding 9,128 Palestinians in detention or in prison on what it calls "security" grounds. Reports of torture and abuse of Palestinians in Israeli custody are well documented.