Ref: 89/2013
Date: 28 August 2013
Time: 11: 44 GMT

On Tuesday, 27 August 2013, the Military Court in Gaza sentenced B.H., 55, a member of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service from Gaza City, to death by firing squad after convicting. The panel, comprised of Judge ‘Abdul Bari al-Qidwa, Chief Judge, Judge Rami ‘Ashour and Judge Shadwan ‘Oukal, convicted the defendant of collaboration with hostile parties in violation of Article 131 of the Palestinian Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979.

According to PCHR’s documentation, this is the 9th death sentence to be issued in 2013, of which 8 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 140 sentences since 1994, of which 113 have been issued in the Gaza Strip and 27 in the West Bank. Among those issued in the Gaza Strip, 52 sentences have been issued since 2007. The Palestinian Authority also executed 29, of which 27 have been executed in the Gaza Strip and 2 in the West Bank. Among those executed in the Gaza Strip, 16 have been executed since 2007 without ratification of the Palestinian President in violation of the law.

In light of the above, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) stresses the following:

1. 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.
2. The 1979 Revolutionary Penal Code of the PLO is unconstitutional when implemented by the Palestinian Authority, 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 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 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.