Ref: 35/2010 

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon the
Attorney General to conduct a serious investigation into the death of ‘Aadel
Saleh Rezeq Rezeq, 56, in a detention center of the Internal Security Service
(ISS) in Gaza City on Tuesday, 19 April 2011. 

According to information available to PCHR, on Friday morning, 14
April 2011, ISS agents arrested ‘Aadel Rezeq from his house in Beit Lahia
housing project in the northern Gaza Strip, and took him to a detention center
near Ansar security compound in the west of Gaza City. At approximately 09:00
on Tuesday, 19 April 2011, several Rezeq’s relatives received phone calls informing
that his body was at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. One of his relatives stated to PCHR that he
was able to see Rezeq’s body in the Forensic Medicine Department and could
notice clear bruises on the forehead.   Members of the department’s staff, as soon as
they noticed he was seeing Rezeq’s body, ordered him to leave. 

Later in the evening, representatives of human rights organizations
and Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council from the Change and Reform
Bloc met with security officials in the Ministry of Interior in Gaza. The meeting was called for by the Ministry of
Interior. The security officials stated
that Rezeq’s death was due to natural circumstances, though they presented a
medical report which indicated that there were bruises on his forehead. They added that on Friday, 14 April, Rezeq
drank chlorine in the detention center. He was so taken to Shifa Hospital for
medical observation and afterwards was returned to the detention center. The Ministry of Interior in Gaza issued a
statement on Tuesday, 19 April, by which it informed that Rezeq died due to
medical complications. However, no details were provided of such complications.
The above mentioned statement concluded that an official committee has been
established to investigate into Rezeq’s death.

In light of the above, PCHR calls upon the Attorney General’s
office, in its capacity as the competent body according to the Criminal
Procedure Law #3 of 2001, to investigate into the circumstances  of Rezeq’ death and make available the results
of such investigation.