PALESTINIAN SELF-RULE AREAS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was researched and written by Fatemeh Ziai, a former counsel at Human Rights Watch/Middle East, and is based on a fact-finding mission to the West Bank and Gaza in July 1996, and on follow-up work since then. The report was edited by Eric Goldstein, research director of Human Rights Watch/Middle East. Former associate Shira Robinson and intern Sara Scalenghe provided invaluable research and production assistance.

The author would like to express her gratitude to the many Palestinians who provided testimony, interviews and written materials and without whose courage and assistance this report would not have been possible. The author would also like to extend special thanks to Bashar Tarabieh, who translated Arabic documents and served as an interpreter during part of the West Bank portion of the fact-finding mission, and to Rayna Moss-Wiener, who translated Hebrew documents.

Human Rights Watch/Middle East

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.

We stand with victims and activists to bring offenders to justice, to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom and to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime.

We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable.

We challenge governments and those holding power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law.

We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.

The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Susan Osnos, associate director; Michele Alexander, development director; Cynthia Brown, program director; Barbara Guglielmo, finance and administration director; Patrick Minges, publications director; Jeri Laber, special advisor; Lotte Leicht, Brussels office director; Susan Osnos, communications director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Wilder Tayler, general counsel; and Joanna Weschler, United Nations representative. Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board and Adrian W. DeWind is vice chair.

Its Middle East division was established in 1989 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Hanny Megally is the executive director; Eric Goldstein is the research director, Joe Stork is the advocacy director; Virginia N. Sherry is associate director; Clarisa Bencomo, Elahé Sharifpour-Hicks, and Nejla Sammakia are research associates; Gamal Abouali is the Orville Schell fellow; Georgina Copty and Awali Samara are associates. Gary Sick is the chair of the advisory committee and Lisa Anderson and Bruce Rabb are vice chairs.

Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org

Listserv address: To subscribe to the list, send an e-mail message to majordomo@igc.apc.org with "subscribe hrw-news" in the body of the message (leave the subject line blank).

APPENDIX A: SUSPICIOUS DEATHS IN DETENTION

Note: The information in this chart comes from press accounts and reports by Palestinian and international human rights organizations. To date, the authorities have ignored numerous invitations by Human Rights Watch to provide more information on cases of death in detention.

Name and Age

Date of Arrest

(m/d/y)

Place of Detention

Date of Death

(m/d/y)

Reported Charges, or Apparent Basis for Detention

Circumstances Surrounding Death

Official Response/Investigation Proceedings

Sami Ali Muhammed Abed Rabbo, age 40

2/15/97

Saraya Prison, held by the General Intelligence authorities

6/30/97

He was held without charge or trial. He had previously been arrested twice by Palestinian security forces.

Family sources said they were told he had died of a stroke. The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights has demanded an autopsy, and protested that only two family members were allowed to attend the burial.

There has been no official response to the PCHR

intervention.

Nasser Abed Radwan, age 28

6/23/97

Arrested from home by two members of Force 17, the presidential guards, and reportedly held at a Force 17 detention center

6/30/97

The security forces did not give a reason for his arrest. The Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group said he was arrested because of a personal conflict with a bodyguard of a Force 17 commander, Colonel Fathi Ibrahim Freihat.

Nasser Radwan was moved to Shifa Hospital in Gaza a day after his arrest. Doctors told his family he had a fractured skull and was brain dead from a blow to the head. Officers from Force 17 told the family he was injured after banging his head on the wall. He died a week later and a medical examination substantiated allegations he had been tortured to death.

A Palestinian military court tried officer Fathi Freihat and seven Force 17 bodyguards on July 1, the day after Radwan died, on charges of torturing Nasser Radwan to death. That day the court convicted three defendants, including Col. Fathi Freihat, of causing his death and of harming the prestige of the Palestinian Authority by inciting hatred toward it, and sentenced them to death. It sentenced three others to prison terms ranging from six months to five years for manslaughter. Two defendants were acquitted.

Hakam Qamhawi, age 57

6/1/97

Jericho Inter-rogation Center, in custody of General Intelligence

6/16/97

Reportedly suspected of selling land to Israelis in 1988. His death followed the killing by unknown gunmen of three Palestinians reportedly suspected of having sold land to Israelis.

Palestinian authorities said he had committed suicide and died on the way to hospital. His family told human rights groups that he died of a heart attack. His wife said he had been tortured in Palestinian custody and told the Associated Press his body showed signs of torture.

The human rights organization LAW said an official PA forensic expert stated he had died of a heart attack. There was no autopsy carried out on the body.

Yusif al-Baba, age 31

1/3/97

Nablus Prison, in custody of Military Intelligence

2/1/97

Summoned without warrant or official authorization to governorate headquarters for questioning in connection with property dispute. Subsequently held without charge.

PA officials confirmed that he was "subject to extreme torture which led to his death." Lawyer who examined body found cigarette burns on right shoulder, rope marks around hands and feet, and contusions from blows to the head. Hospitalized three weeks before death but returned to detention for interrogation.

Justice Minister Abu Medein called on President Arafat to stop security forces from obstructing investigation, and called the case "a decisive point in the future of personal and human freedoms in our nation." He also said that results of the official autopsy conducted on 2/2/97 were stolen. The Palestinian press later reported that police had arrested the chief of Military Intelligence in Nablus, two local government officials, a doctor in the military service and nurses working in the hospital where al-Baba died. To date, no one has been charged or tried.

Name and Age

Date of Arrest

Place of Detention

Date of Death

Reported Charges, or Apparent Basis for Detention

Circumstances Surrounding Death

Official Response/Investigation Proceedings

Fayez Hama Yaqub al-Qumsieh, age 53

3/7/96

Bethlehem District Prison, first in custody of PSS and then transferred to Military Intelligence

1/17/97

Held without charge or trial but confessed under torture to the murder of a suspected collaborator in 1981.

PA first stated that he hanged himself, but doctors representing his relatives who observed the official autopsy told them that he died of a heart attack. A photograph of his face showed bruising, according to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. Family reported that other parts of his body also showed signs of violence.

Preliminary results of the official autopsy reportedly showed a broken arm and signs of beating on the neck and forehead, though final results not published. President Arafat ordered investigation, but the results were not published.

Rashid Daoud Rashid al-Fityani, age 25

1/15/95

Jericho District Prison

12/3/96

Arrested, along with brother-in-law Salman Jalayta (see below), on suspicion of collaborating in murdering a Hamas member in 12/94. His trial before a military court had been repeatedly postponed.

Police stated that a guard shot Fityani after being attacked by him during an argument. According to hospital sources, he was shot thirteen times at close range. Amnesty International previously reported that he and Jalayta had been tortured by electric shocks and beaten with cables. Fityani reportedly had signs of violence on his body when his family visited him in 2/95.

PA and Legislative Council announced investigations. The next day, PA apologized for the "tragic accident" and acknowledged that the number of bullets used suggested excessive use of force. On 12/6, a military court sentenced the guard, Assa Jalaiteh, to life in prison and hard labor.

Khaled Isa Habal, age 66

8/10/96

PSS head-quarters, Ramallah

8/11/06

Summoned for questioning in connection with death of a villager killed during a land dispute.

PA stated that he hanged himself. Family members initially reported signs of beating on legs, back, and genitals.

According to an unconfirmed report, two police officers and an interrogator were suspended pending investigation. In accordance with an agreement between the Palestinian and Israeli health ministries, the PA did not release autopsy results conducted at Abu Kabir, the Israeli forensic institute.

Mahmud Jumayal, age 26

mid-

Decembe r 1995

Jneid Prison, Nablus, in custody of Coastal Police. Transferred there on 7/26 from Jericho, where he was held by PSS.

7/31/96

Held without charge, but questioned about alleged involvement with Fatah Eagles.

According to lawyer who visited him in detention, his body showed signs of his having been suspended by the feet, beaten with cables, and branded with a hot iron; hospital staff reported that he had extensive burns, multiple lacerations, a fractured skull, and internal bleeding in his brain.

Three named officers were convicted of the beatings and sentenced in a two-hour trial by Jericho military court, two to fifteen years plus hard labor, and one to ten years plus hard labor.

Azzam Muhammad Ibrahim Muslih, age 52 (U.S. citizen)

9/27/95

Jericho detention center, transferred from PSS to General Intelligence Service

9/28/95

Held without charge, but police told the press that he had been questioned in connection with two old murder cases.

Family reported signs of beating and cigarette burns on his body. Muslih had a history of heart trouble, and the PA initially claimed that he died of a heart attack. Later, following US pressure, his body was exhumed and the Israeli forensic laboratory at Abu Kabir conducted an autopsy, in the presence of a family representative. It revealed three broken ribs but was inconclusive on the cause of death.

Following the investigation, the PA announced that three officers had been tried and sentenced-two to one year and one to seven years-for their roles in unintentionally causing Muslih's death.

Tawfiq Sawarqa, age 36

Unknown

Gaza Central Prison, Gaza City

8/27/95

Reportedly arrested for "security reasons."

PA initially claimed that he died of a heart attack.

President Arafat reportedly ordered an investigation and announced that two interrogators had been questioned and suspended. To date, no one is known to have been charged, and no autopsy known to have been conducted.

Muhammad Atwa al-Majid al-Umour, age 50

4/24/95

Rafah, Gaza Strip, in custody of PSS; transferred to Shifa hospital on 6/19

6/21/95

Unknown

Family reported burns and signs of beating on the body.

Autopsy conducted and commission of inquiry reportedly established, but no results published to date.

Yusif Mahmud Sharawi, age 21

5/23/95

Nuseirat detention center, in custody of General Intelligence Service, Gaza

5/23/95

Unknown

Police and security officials announced that he died from injuries sustained after being accidentally shot by live ammunition in the detention center.

Attorney General al-Qidrah stated that Sharawi's interrogator would be tried. However, no results of any inquiry were published, and no information has become available to indicate that an autopsy was performed or a trial held.

Salman Atta Qreishi Jalayta, age 44

1/15/95

Jericho detention center, in custody of PSS

1/18/95

Arrested with his brother-in-law Rashid Daoud Rashid al-Fityani (see above). Held without charge.

PSS chief Col. Rajoub stated that he died after being transferred to hospital for treatment for low blood pressure. Family and journalists who saw the corpse reported signs of beating.

Results of the autopsy and PSS internal investigation not disclosed. Following separate investigations, the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens Rights concluded that Jalayta died due to heart failure under the pressure of the interrogation and "not as a result of deliberate killing," but it suggested that "irregular...detention procedures and conditions...may have contributed to his death as a result of negligence."

Farid Hashim Jarbu, age 28

6/25/94

Gaza Central Prison, Gaza City, in custody of PSS

7/6/94

Held without charge, but reportedly accused of drug dealing and collaboration.

PA announced that he died as a result of violence. Family reported wounds on forehead, shoulders, wrists and abdomen that indicated severe beating.

Three police officers initially suspended, but no further disciplinary measures confirmed; results of autopsy not revealed.

SUSPICIOUS DEATHS AFTER RELEASE FROM DETENTION

Name

Date of Arrest

Place of Detentio n

Date of Death

Reported Charges, or Apparent Basis for Detention

Circumstances Surrounding Death

Official Response/Investigation Proceedings

Nahid Mujahid Dahlan, age 24

7/27/9 6-8/7/96 , sum-mone d daily

Special Apparatu s office of General Intellige nce Service in al-Qarara village, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip

8/7/96, died hours after being found badly injured near his home.

No charges known to have been brought against him.

PA announced that autopsy revealed that he had committed suicide by swallowing insecticide. Family reported that body had scars and bruising on abdomen, arms, and legs.

No investigation conducted, and autopsy results not provided to family. Muhammad Dahman, director of the rights organization Addameer, was detained for fifteen days after calling for an investigation into his death. Attorney General al-Qidrah stated that he was charged with "publishing false information and issuing it in a press release."

Muhammad Hussein al-Jundi, age 32

1/5/95

Gaza Central Prison, Gaza City

4/1/95

Charged with collaborating with an Israeli undercover unit in the 1994 murder of six members of the Fatah Hawks, the armed wing of Fatah.

General Intelligence officers stated that he was shot while trying to escape from prison. Eyewitnesses reported that al-Jundi had been taken from prison to the al-Qatatwa area of Jabalia refugee camp (site of the 1994 murder), where four armed men in civilian clothes shot him in the head at close range. One man allegedly announced al-Jundi's assassination as revenge for the 1994 killings. Family members reported traces of torture after visiting him in detention one month before his death. At that time he informed them that he had been subjected to electric shocks.

PA launched an internal investigation. Four days later, Justice Minister Abu Medein announced that five intelligence officers had been detained in connection with his death, would be tried before a military court and "punished very severely." However, the PA did not publish the names of anyone detained in connection with al-Jundi's death, and no judicial follow-up has been confirmed.

Allam Hattat, age unknown

Un-

know n

Gaza

1/23/95

Unknown

Found strangled two days after he was released without charge.

Unknown

*Name and Age*	*Date of Arrest* *(m/d/y)*	*Place of Detention*	*Date of Death* *(m/d/y)*	*Reported Charges, or Apparent Basis for Detention*	*Circumstances Surrounding Death*	*Official Response/Investigation Proceedings*
Sami Ali Muhammed Abed Rabbo, age 40	2/15/97	Saraya Prison, held by the General Intelligence authorities	6/30/97	He was held without charge or trial. He had previously been arrested twice by Palestinian security forces.	Family sources said they were told he had died of a stroke. The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights has demanded an autopsy, and protested that only two family members were allowed to attend the burial.	There has been no official response to the PCHR intervention.
Nasser Abed Radwan, age 28	6/23/97	Arrested from home by two members of Force 17, the presidential guards, and reportedly held at a Force 17 detention center	6/30/97	The security forces did not give a reason for his arrest. The Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group said he was arrested because of a personal conflict with a bodyguard of a Force 17 commander, Colonel Fathi Ibrahim Freihat.	Nasser Radwan was moved to Shifa Hospital in Gaza a day after his arrest. Doctors told his family he had a fractured skull and was brain dead from a blow to the head. Officers from Force 17 told the family he was injured after banging his head on the wall. He died a week later and a medical examination substantiated allegations he had been tortured to death.	A Palestinian military court tried officer Fathi Freihat and seven Force 17 bodyguards on July 1, the day after Radwan died, on charges of torturing Nasser Radwan to death. That day the court convicted three defendants, including Col. Fathi Freihat, of causing his death and of harming the prestige of the Palestinian Authority by inciting hatred toward it, and sentenced them to death. It sentenced three others to prison terms ranging from six months to five years for manslaughter. Two defendants were acquitted.
Hakam Qamhawi, age 57	6/1/97	Jericho Inter-rogation Center, in custody of General Intelligence	6/16/97	Reportedly suspected of selling land to Israelis in 1988. His death followed the killing by unknown gunmen of three Palestinians reportedly suspected of having sold land to Israelis.	Palestinian authorities said he had committed suicide and died on the way to hospital. His family told human rights groups that he died of a heart attack. His wife said he had been tortured in Palestinian custody and told the Associated Press his body showed signs of torture.	The human rights organization LAW said an official PA forensic expert stated he had died of a heart attack. There was no autopsy carried out on the body.
Yusif al-Baba, age 31	1/3/97	Nablus Prison, in custody of Military Intelligence	2/1/97	Summoned without warrant or official authorization to governorate headquarters for questioning in connection with property dispute. Subsequently held without charge.	PA officials confirmed that he was "subject to extreme torture which led to his death." Lawyer who examined body found cigarette burns on right shoulder, rope marks around hands and feet, and contusions from blows to the head. Hospitalized three weeks before death but returned to detention for interrogation.	Justice Minister Abu Medein called on President Arafat to stop security forces from obstructing investigation, and called the case "a decisive point in the future of personal and human freedoms in our nation." He also said that results of the official autopsy conducted on 2/2/97 were stolen. The Palestinian press later reported that police had arrested the chief of Military Intelligence in Nablus, two local government officials, a doctor in the military service and nurses working in the hospital where al-Baba died. To date, no one has been charged or tried.

*Name and Age*	*Date of Arrest*	*Place of Detention*	*Date of Death*	*Reported Charges, or Apparent Basis for Detention*	*Circumstances Surrounding Death*	*Official Response/Investigation Proceedings*
Fayez Hama Yaqub al-Qumsieh, age 53	3/7/96	Bethlehem District Prison, first in custody of PSS and then transferred to Military Intelligence	1/17/97	Held without charge or trial but confessed under torture to the murder of a suspected collaborator in 1981.	PA first stated that he hanged himself, but doctors representing his relatives who observed the official autopsy told them that he died of a heart attack. A photograph of his face showed bruising, according to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. Family reported that other parts of his body also showed signs of violence.	Preliminary results of the official autopsy reportedly showed a broken arm and signs of beating on the neck and forehead, though final results not published. President Arafat ordered investigation, but the results were not published.
Rashid Daoud Rashid al-Fityani, age 25	1/15/95	Jericho District Prison	12/3/96	Arrested, along with brother-in-law Salman Jalayta (see below), on suspicion of collaborating in murdering a Hamas member in 12/94. His trial before a military court had been repeatedly postponed.	Police stated that a guard shot Fityani after being attacked by him during an argument. According to hospital sources, he was shot thirteen times at close range. Amnesty International previously reported that he and Jalayta had been tortured by electric shocks and beaten with cables. Fityani reportedly had signs of violence on his body when his family visited him in 2/95.	PA and Legislative Council announced investigations. The next day, PA apologized for the "tragic accident" and acknowledged that the number of bullets used suggested excessive use of force. On 12/6, a military court sentenced the guard, Assa Jalaiteh, to life in prison and hard labor.
Khaled Isa Habal, age 66	8/10/96	PSS head-quarters, Ramallah	8/11/06	Summoned for questioning in connection with death of a villager killed during a land dispute.	PA stated that he hanged himself. Family members initially reported signs of beating on legs, back, and genitals.	According to an unconfirmed report, two police officers and an interrogator were suspended pending investigation. In accordance with an agreement between the Palestinian and Israeli health ministries, the PA did not release autopsy results conducted at Abu Kabir, the Israeli forensic institute.
Mahmud Jumayal, age 26	mid- Decembe r 1995	Jneid Prison, Nablus, in custody of Coastal Police. Transferred there on 7/26 from Jericho, where he was held by PSS.	7/31/96	Held without charge, but questioned about alleged involvement with Fatah Eagles.	According to lawyer who visited him in detention, his body showed signs of his having been suspended by the feet, beaten with cables, and branded with a hot iron; hospital staff reported that he had extensive burns, multiple lacerations, a fractured skull, and internal bleeding in his brain.	Three named officers were convicted of the beatings and sentenced in a two-hour trial by Jericho military court, two to fifteen years plus hard labor, and one to ten years plus hard labor.
Azzam Muhammad Ibrahim Muslih, age 52 (U.S. citizen)	9/27/95	Jericho detention center, transferred from PSS to General Intelligence Service	9/28/95	Held without charge, but police told the press that he had been questioned in connection with two old murder cases.	Family reported signs of beating and cigarette burns on his body. Muslih had a history of heart trouble, and the PA initially claimed that he died of a heart attack. Later, following US pressure, his body was exhumed and the Israeli forensic laboratory at Abu Kabir conducted an autopsy, in the presence of a family representative. It revealed three broken ribs but was inconclusive on the cause of death.	Following the investigation, the PA announced that three officers had been tried and sentenced-two to one year and one to seven years-for their roles in unintentionally causing Muslih's death.
Tawfiq Sawarqa, age 36	Unknown	Gaza Central Prison, Gaza City	8/27/95	Reportedly arrested for "security reasons."	PA initially claimed that he died of a heart attack.	President Arafat reportedly ordered an investigation and announced that two interrogators had been questioned and suspended. To date, no one is known to have been charged, and no autopsy known to have been conducted.
Muhammad Atwa al-Majid al-Umour, age 50	4/24/95	Rafah, Gaza Strip, in custody of PSS; transferred to Shifa hospital on 6/19	6/21/95	Unknown	Family reported burns and signs of beating on the body.	Autopsy conducted and commission of inquiry reportedly established, but no results published to date.
Yusif Mahmud Sharawi, age 21	5/23/95	Nuseirat detention center, in custody of General Intelligence Service, Gaza	5/23/95	Unknown	Police and security officials announced that he died from injuries sustained after being accidentally shot by live ammunition in the detention center.	Attorney General al-Qidrah stated that Sharawi's interrogator would be tried. However, no results of any inquiry were published, and no information has become available to indicate that an autopsy was performed or a trial held.
Salman Atta Qreishi Jalayta, age 44	1/15/95	Jericho detention center, in custody of PSS	1/18/95	Arrested with his brother-in-law Rashid Daoud Rashid al-Fityani (see above). Held without charge.	PSS chief Col. Rajoub stated that he died after being transferred to hospital for treatment for low blood pressure. Family and journalists who saw the corpse reported signs of beating.	Results of the autopsy and PSS internal investigation not disclosed. Following separate investigations, the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens Rights concluded that Jalayta died due to heart failure under the pressure of the interrogation and "not as a result of deliberate killing," but it suggested that "irregular...detention procedures and conditions...may have contributed to his death as a result of negligence."
Farid Hashim Jarbu, age 28	6/25/94	Gaza Central Prison, Gaza City, in custody of PSS	7/6/94	Held without charge, but reportedly accused of drug dealing and collaboration.	PA announced that he died as a result of violence. Family reported wounds on forehead, shoulders, wrists and abdomen that indicated severe beating.	Three police officers initially suspended, but no further disciplinary measures confirmed; results of autopsy not revealed.

*Name*	*Date of Arrest*	*Place of Detentio n*	*Date of Death*	*Reported Charges, or Apparent Basis for Detention*	*Circumstances Surrounding Death*	Official Response/Investigation Proceedings
Nahid Mujahid Dahlan, age 24	7/27/9 6-8/7/96 , sum-mone d daily	Special Apparatu s office of General Intellige nce Service in al-Qarara village, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip	8/7/96, died hours after being found badly injured near his home.	No charges known to have been brought against him.	PA announced that autopsy revealed that he had committed suicide by swallowing insecticide. Family reported that body had scars and bruising on abdomen, arms, and legs.	No investigation conducted, and autopsy results not provided to family. Muhammad Dahman, director of the rights organization Addameer, was detained for fifteen days after calling for an investigation into his death. Attorney General al-Qidrah stated that he was charged with "publishing false information and issuing it in a press release."
Muhammad Hussein al-Jundi, age 32	1/5/95	Gaza Central Prison, Gaza City	4/1/95	Charged with collaborating with an Israeli undercover unit in the 1994 murder of six members of the Fatah Hawks, the armed wing of Fatah.	General Intelligence officers stated that he was shot while trying to escape from prison. Eyewitnesses reported that al-Jundi had been taken from prison to the al-Qatatwa area of Jabalia refugee camp (site of the 1994 murder), where four armed men in civilian clothes shot him in the head at close range. One man allegedly announced al-Jundi's assassination as revenge for the 1994 killings. Family members reported traces of torture after visiting him in detention one month before his death. At that time he informed them that he had been subjected to electric shocks.	PA launched an internal investigation. Four days later, Justice Minister Abu Medein announced that five intelligence officers had been detained in connection with his death, would be tried before a military court and "punished very severely." However, the PA did not publish the names of anyone detained in connection with al-Jundi's death, and no judicial follow-up has been confirmed.
Allam Hattat, age unknown	Un- know n	Gaza	1/23/95	Unknown	Found strangled two days after he was released without charge.	Unknown