With deep pain and sorrow, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights received on Sunday afternoon, 12 April 2020, the news of human rights activist, Farouk Abu Issa’s death.

The late Mr. Abu Issa was one of the most prominent Arab lawyers and an icon of the Arab and Sudanese human right movement. He was a founding and prominent member of the Arab Lawyers Union and the Arab Organization for Human Rights. Mr. Abu Issa was a stubborn defender and a fearless speaker for justice and democracy, and his bold stands cost him years of his life in imprisonment.

PCHR Director, Raji Sourani, commented on Mr. Abu Issa’s death, saying:

            “Mr. Farouk Abu Issa was a unique phenomenon in our Arab world, as he brought together law, politics and society and was a hardcore believer in the need to reform the Arab legal and judicial institutions. He believed that lawyers and human rights defenders ought to be on the frontline of reform in the Arab world in terms of democracy, rule of law and human rights. He was present at national, Arab and international arenas to promote Arab causes, particularly the Palestinian cause. The human rights movement has lost one of its pillars with the loss of Mr. Abu Issa, it is our sole condolence that future generations will continue to carry and promote the principles he spent his life promoting.”

PCHR offers its deep condolences to Mr. Abu Issa’s family, the people of The Sudan and the Arab nation, and promise to continue on the path he led for the better of our Arab nation’s future.