Ref:
114/2013

On
Wednesday, 13 November 2013, the Gaza Court of First Instance issued a death
sentence in absentia against A.D., 26, who is currently outside the Gaza, after
convicting him in accordance with the Palestinian Penal code of committing a
murder.

According to PCHR’s documentations, 12 death
sentences have been issued in 2013, of which 11 were issued in the Gaza Strip
and 1 in the West Bank. Thus, the total number of death sentences issued by the
Palestinian Authority has risen to 147, of which 120 were issued in the Gaza
Strip and 27 in the West Bank since 1994. Among those issued in the Gaza Strip,
62 have been issued since 2007. The Palestinian Authority also executed 30
death sentences, of which 28 have been executed in the Gaza Strip and 2 in the
West Bank. Among those executed in the Gaza Strip, 17 have been executed since
2007 without ratification of the Palestinian President in violation of the law.

PCHR is gravely concerned over the continued application of the
death penalty in Palestinian Authority 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
for reviewing all legislation related to the death penalty, especially the
Penal 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;

3. 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; and

4. Stresses
that ratification of the implementation of death sentences is an absolute power
of the Palestinian President according to the Palestinian Basic Law and
relevant laws, and no death sentence can be implemented without such
ratification.