The lawyer for a prominent Palestinian medic from Gaza who has been detained by Israeli authorities without charge for over 18 months has told the BBC he fears for his client’s life.

Nasser Odeh said that when he visited Dr Hussam Abu Safiya last Thursday at a notorious interrogation facility called Rakefet, his client was so badly beaten that he could not recognise him.

“He nearly lost consciousness several times,” Odeh said of their meeting. “He told us that he was subjected to severe violence inside the prison, especially on the day of the visit.”

In a statement to the BBC, the Israel Prison Service rejected the account as false.

Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to respond by Tuesday to a petition calling for the release of Abu Safiya and 13 other Palestinian doctors from Gaza held without charge in Israel.

According to Odeh, Abu Safiya said more than five prison guards assaulted him with their hands, batons and hammers after an appeal against his detention last month at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, and that he had not received any medical treatment.

“I had difficulty recognising his features. Bruises covered his face, around his eyes, on his neck, and on his ears. Signs of beatings and torture were clearly visible on his face. He was exhausted and unable to breathe, in a difficult physical, psychological, and mental state.

“He said clearly, ‘I’m living in hell. The mind can’t imagine what I go through every day. I think someone has decided to kill me’.”

Odeh said he had not lost hope that he would see his client again.

“I hope to see him soon out of prison,” he said. “His place is outside prison, his place is in the hospital.”

But he struggled to repeat the words Abu Safiya said to him: “Thank you Nasser, but I think it will be the last time we will meet.”

Read More: Lawyer says detained Gaza doctor was severely beaten in Israeli jail