Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that after a twenty-two month moratorium on executions, the Palestinian Authority is reverting to a pattern of executions without due process, as evidenced by the January 13, 2001 public execution of Allam Bani Ouda in Nablus and the execution of Majdi Mikkawi in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch opposes the use of the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life, both because of its inherent cruelty, and because of the possibility that individuals wrongly convicted may be executed. We are therefore deeply disturbed by the Palestinian Authority's repeated recourse to the death penalty in cases where defendants received grossly unfair trials before state security and military courts whose verdicts may have been influenced by political considerations.
Public executions, such as the execution of Allam Bani Ouda in front of a crowd of thousands in Nablus, are particularly repulsive and cruel. We are further concerned that they take place after trials that have failed to meet minimum international fair trial standards, despite Your Excellency's statements that the Palestinian Authority is committed to respect and incorporate into Palestinian law all internationally recognized human rights standards. The speed with which convictions were issued in these latest cases, after military court trials which lasted only a few hours and where the accused had no access to legal representation or appeal, shows convincingly that the defendants' most basic due process rights were violated.
At a minimum, all suspects tried before any Palestinian court should be provided with the following internationally recognized rights:
to be presumed innocent until proven guilty;
to be tried before a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal;
to be informed of the nature and basis of the charges against him or her;
to have adequate time to prepare a defense, to present a defense to the charges, and call witnesses in their defense;
to be provided with legal representation, if necessary paid by the state;
to examine the evidence and the witnesses against him or her;
not to be compelled to testify against himself or herself, or to confess guilt; and,
to appeal conviction and sentence to a higher tribunal according to law.
Noting that these basic minimum rights were not provided to the convicted persons, we urge Your Excellency to stay the execution of those pending death sentences and to require an immediate retrial which meets the minimum international fair trial standards enumerated above.
It is a matter of deep concern to Human Rights Watch that the Palestinian Authority continues to defy the worldwide trend towards the abolition of the death penalty by handing down death sentences and carrying out executions. Human Rights Watch again urges Your Excellency to undertake the progressive restriction and ultimate elimination of the death penalty in Palestinian law.
Sincerely,
/s/
Hanny Megally
Executive Director
Middle East and North Africa Division
cc. Minister of Justice Freih Abu Meddein
