Ref: 40/2015
Date: 07 July 2015
Time: 10:35 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the excessive use of force by the Palestinian police and security services in the West Bank to disperse a sit-in organized by families of political detainees held by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank at al-Manarah Square in the center Ramallah. PCHR calls upon the Attorney General in Ramallah to open an investigation into the incident and calls for respect for the right to peaceful assembly which is ensured by the Palestinian law and international human rights standards.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR and eyewitnesses’ accounts, at approximately 22:00 on Sunday, 05 July 2015, dozens of young men and women from the families of political detainees held by the Palestinian security services in Ramallah and Al-Bireh at Manara Square in Ramallah gathered to organize a peaceful sit-in protesting against the political detention of their sons.
Members of the riot police and security officers dressed wearing plain clothes pushed and screamed at a number of women participating in the protest who were trying to prevent the arrest of their sons while participating in the protest. They also attacked some participants by kicking and beating them with the gun butts. As a result, Taghrid Numan Dar Mousa (46) from Beit Loqya village, southwest of Ramallah, fainted while she was trying to prevent the Preventive Security Service officers from arresting her child, Mohammed (16). It should be noted that the aforementioned woman is as well the mother of a political detainee, Islam Saleh Dar Musa, who was arrested on Friday, 03 July 2015, from his family house by the same officers who tried to arrest her child, Mohammed. Moreover, five civilians were beaten and arrested by security officers. Two of them were identified as Khalil Hasan Jamil Hamed (32), and Loay Noah Abdul Rahman Hamed (33), both from Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah, and were then taken to the city police station. At approximately 23:20, the aforementioned two civilians were released after their ID cards were held and were both demanded to refer to the Preventive Security office in al-Balou’a area in Al-Bireh at 10:00 on Monday, 06 July 2015, to obtain their ID cards.
PCHR emphasizes that people have the right to peaceful assembly, which is ensured under Article 26 of the Palestinian Basic Law and under the Public Meetings Law. PCHR also stresses people’s right to personal security and not being subjected to inhuman and cruel treatment by the police officers. PCHR further stresses the inadmissibility of the excessive use of force to enforce security according to international human rights standards, particularly Article (7) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In light of the above:
