Ref: 35/2013
Date: 01 April 2013
Time: 11:40 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon the Attorney General in Gaza to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the death of a man while he was being detained in the detention facility of Rafah police station, and to publish the results of the investigation.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, including the testimony of a relative of the deceased man, at approximately 23:35 on Sunday, 31 March 2013, the body of Sami Hamdan Qishta, 50, from al-Brazil neighbourhood in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, was transferred to Martyr Mohammed Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah town.
According to police sources, Qishta had been detained in the detention facility of Rafah police station since 20 March 2013, in accordance with a court order. Police sources also stated that Qishta had been receiving medical treatment because he suffered from a heart condition. Qishta had been on short-term release prior to his death, and had stayed with his family on 28 and 29 March 2013. Qishta returned to the detention facility on Saturday, 30 March 2013, the day before his death.
In light of the above, PCHR:
- Calls upon the Attorney General in Gaza to open an investigation into the circumstances of Sami Hamdan Qishta’s death, to determine whether he received the appropriate treatment for his condition, to ascertain the final cause of death, and to publish the results of the investigation;
- Calls upon the Ministry of Interior to adhere to Palestinian law in relation to the treatment of prisoners and detainees, and to put in place strict measures for the conduct of regular medical examinations on detainees who are being held in reform, rehabilitation and detention centres. Additionally, measures should be in place which ensure the immediate transfer of any person requiring medical care to a clinic or hospital without delay;
- Emphasises that the Palestinian Authority hold the ultimate responsibility for the wellbeing of prisoners and detainees, and thus, they are responsible for ensuring that prisoners and detainees are treated in a way that maintains their dignity, including through the provision of adequate health care services, in accordance with the Law of Reform and Rehabilitation Centres of 1998; and
- Stresses that it is the right of the detainee’s family to file a case for compensation in the event that it is proved that the police authorities failed in their duty of care to Sami Hamdan Qishta.
