Ref: 58/2012

On Monday, 21
May 2012, the Gaza Court of Cassation confirmed a death sentence by hanging
issued by the Gaza Court of First Instance on 29 December 2010 against F.T.W.,
from Gaza City.  F.T.W. was convicted of
murder, in accordance with the Penal Code of 1936.  On 07 December 2011,
the Court of Appeal confirmed this sentence. 

According to
PCHR’s documentation, this is the sixth death sentence to be confirmed in the
Gaza Strip since the beginning of 2012. 

It is worth
noting that the total number of death sentences issued by the Palestinian
National Authority (PNA) has risen to 127 since 1994, of which 25 have been
issued in the West Bank and 102 in the Gaza Strip.  Among
those issued in the Gaza Strip, 40 sentences have been issued since 2007. 

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

1. Reiterates its position opposing the death penalty, because it
constitutes a violation of the right to life and a form of cruel and inhuman
treatment, and it does not deter crimes, as proven by the experiences of
countries that apply it;

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

3. Expresses concerns over the consequences of the ongoing
political split on the judicial authority, which requires abstention from
issuing such irreversible severe sentences;

4. Indicates that there is a growing international trend to abolish
the death penalty, so efforts should be made at the Palestinian level in
consistence with this trend to abolish the death penalty;   

5. Points out that the call for the 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 preserve our humanity; and

6. Calls for a review of 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), which 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.