Ref.,: 69/2003

PCHR has appealed to the
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat not to ratify a sentence to death issued by
a special military court today.  The
court, headed by Brigadier ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Wadi, sentenced Rani Darwish Khalil
Shaqqura, 27, from Jabalya refugee camp, to death after he had been convicted
of murdering Captain Hani ‘Atiya al-Madhoun on 15 April 2003.   

It is worth noting that the
sentence cannot be executed unless the Palestinian President ratifies it.  In a letter it has
submitted to
the Palestinian President, PCHR reiterated its condemnation for the
aforementioned murder, but appealed to him not to ratify the death sentence in
order to preserve our humanity as a people, and because the death penalty does
not deter crimes as a number of death sentences were executed in the past but
crimes has not stoped.

PCHR issued a press release
on 30 April 2003, calling upon the Palestinian Authority to dismantle that
special military court and transfer the case to a civil court in accordance
with Palestinian law.  PCHR reached this
conclusion after it observed the court’s sessions, which failed to meet the minimum
standards for a fair trial.