Ref: 124/2013
Date: 09 December 2013
Time: 10:00 GMT

The High Military Court in Gaza issued 2 death sentences against 2 men after convicting them of collaboration with hostile parties; one of them was sentenced to death by hanging while the other was sentenced to death by firing squad.

On Sunday, 08 December 2013, (Z. R.) was sentenced to death by hanging, as he was convicted of betrayal and collaboration with hostile parties and involvement in a murder in violation of article 378 (a) of the Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979.

On Thursday, 05 December 2013, the Military Court in Gaza confirmed the death sentence death by firing squad issued against (‘E. K.), 31, from Khan Yunis, after conviction him of collaboration with hostile parties and assisting in killing members of armed groups. ‘E. K. had been already sentenced by the Military Court on 22 September 2010 to death by firing squad according to article 131 (a) of the Palestinian Revolutionary Penal Code 1979.

According to PCHR’s documentation, with these 2 sentences, the number of death sentences to be issued in 2013 has reached 14; 13 were issued in the Gaza Strip and one was issued in the West Bank. Thus, the total number of death sentences issued in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) controlled areas has risen to 148 sentences since 1994, of which 27 have been issued in the West Bank and 121 in the Gaza Strip. Among those issued in the Gaza Strip, 63 sentences have been issued since 2007; i.e. since Hamas has taken over the Gaza Strip, while the PNA issued 30 death sentences since its establishment; of which 28 have been issued in the Gaza Strip and 2 in the West Bank. Of the sentences issued in the Gaza Strip, 17 were issued 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 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 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;
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;
4. Highlights the ratification over death sentences is an exclusive right of the Palestinian President according to the constitution and relevant laws. Thus, no sentence shall be applied without the President’s ratification.