Palestinian Authority: Commute Death Sentence

(New York, February 12, 2001) -- In a letter made public today, Human Rights Watch appealed to Palestinian President Arafat not to ratify a death sentence handed down on Sunday by a military court in Hebron. The organization also urged the Palestinian Authority to suspend all pending executions and ensure that defendants appearing before Palestinian courts be guaranteed basic due process as set out in international law.

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On February 11, Hassan Mohammed Hassan Musallem, a Palestinian security official, was found guilty of collaborating with the Israeli army and sentenced to execution by firing squad. Earlier in January, two Palestinians were executed for similar charges after a summary trial in a military court without access to lawyers and without the right to appeal. Palestinian officials have said that they expect more such executions in the near future.  
 
"President Arafat should suspend immediately all use of the death penalty by the Palestinian Authority," said Hanny Megally, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division. "Further executions will not serve the cause of justice, especially when they are imposed after unfair trials."  
 
Human Rights Watch noted that an undisclosed number of Palestinians have been detained in recent weeks on suspicion of collaborating with Israel and expressed concern that they may face execution after unfair trials.