Ref: 4/2012

On Wednesday, 11 January 2012, the Permanent
Military Court sentenced (A. M. A.), 48, from Gaza City, to death by hanging
after convicting him of collaboration with hostile parties and complicity to
murder in violation of the Palestinian Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979. 

According to information available to PCHR,
this is the first death sentence to be issued in 2012.  Thus, the total number of death sentences
issued by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has risen to 122 sentences
since 1994, of which 25 have been issued in the West Bank and 97 in the Gaza
Strip.  Among those issued in the Gaza Strip, 36 sentences have been
issued since 2007.

It should be noted that the 1979 Revolutionary
Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is unconstitutional
when implemented by the PNA, as it has not been presented to, nor approved by
the legislature. Since 1995, PCHR has repeatedly called for the abolition of
this Code as it violates international standards of a fair trial.

PCHR is gravely concerned over the continued
application of the death penalty in PNA controlled areas, and:

1. Calls for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death
penalty as a form of punishment because it violates international human rights
standards and instruments, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and
the UN Convention against Torture (1984);

2. Calls upon Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to ratify
such cruel and inhuman punishment;

3. Calls for an end to such implementation of the PLO Revolutionary
Penal Code of 1979 because it is unconstitutional;

4. Calls for reviewing all legislation related to the death
penalty, especially Law No. 74 (1936) which remains in effect in the Gaza
Strip, and the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 (1960) that is in effect in the West
Bank, and enacting a unified penal code that is in line with the spirit of
international human rights instruments, especially those pertaining to the
abolition of the death penalty;

5. Points out that the call for abolition of the death penalty does
not reflect a tolerance for those convicted of serious crimes, but rather a
call for utilizing deterrent penalties that maintain our humanity;

6. Emphasizes that the Palestinian Authority has the right to
prosecute alleged traitors for crimes of treason, including those who
collaborate with Israeli occupation authorities.  However, PCHR highlights
the right of each person to a fair trial conducted in accordance with accepted
legal standards. Any penalty imposed must serve as a deterrent while also
maintaining standards of humanity.  PCHR
also reiterates that its stance against the death penalty is a professional
opinion based on legal and ethical standards.