Press Release

August 14, 1996

 

In a letter addressed to the Attorney General, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights presented its initial report concerning the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Nahid Dahalan.

Yesterday, Tuesday, August 13, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights sent a letter to the Palestinian Authority Attorney General, Mr. Khalid al-Qidre, which included an initial report concerning the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Nahid Mujahid Dahalan last Wednesday, August 7. The Centre expresses its hope that the information included in the report, collected from members of Dahalan’s family and sources close to the family by a special team from the Centre, will assist in enabling the official investigation to determine the circumstances of Dahalan’s death and to ensure that this case is justly resolved. The Centre confirms the necessity of working together to establish democratic processes based on the principles of accountability and the rule of law.

According to the letter, 24-year-old Nahid Mujahid Dahalan, from al-Qarara village in Khan Younis, was transferred to Nasr hospital in Khan Younis, having already entered into a coma. He was reportedly pronounced dead a few minutes after his arrival to the hospital. While unofficial sources have disclosed to the Centre that a note was found with the deceased confirming that he had committed suicide, the Centre’s report states that Dahalan had been summoned to the Special Apparatus Office of the General Secret Services in al-Qarara village on an almost daily basis from July 27 until the date of his death, according to sources within his family.

The report emphasized the importance of the investigation of this case and a disclosure of the facts surrounding Dahalan’s death, and the need to reach the appropriate and correct conclusion in regard to allegations concerning the involvement of individuals from the General Secret Services in the death of Dahalan in relation to Dahalan’s alleged suicide.

In the event that the results of the investigation and an autopsy confirm that Dahalan was tortured or that he committed suicide as a result of being tortured and/or interrogated, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights expresses its conviction that all those involved will be brought to justice, and suggests that procedures should be adopted in order to guarantee the rule of law which forbid torture in all its forms and guarantee that acts of torture will not occur in the future. Among these procedures are the following:

 

1) Respect and apply the procedures for arrest and detention which are available in Palestinian law and ensure that these are publicly known.

2) Establish strict guidelines for interrogators which guarantee respect for the rights of individuals.

3) Hold accountable all those who have been involved in previous cases of torture of detainees, some of which have resulted in death.

4) Establish and publish a clear and distinct division of responsibility and a chain of command within the security services, and centralize the arrests of detainees.