Ref: 73/2010

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the
attack carried out by the Palestinian police on a public sit-in organized by
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the Unknown Soldier
Square in the center of Gaza City. The
sit-in was organized yesterday in protest to the continued electricity
crisis. PCHR calls upon the government
in Gaza to respect public freedoms, and stresses that the right to peaceful
assembly and the right to freedom of opinion and expression are ensured under
the Palestinian basic law and the international human rights standards.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at
approximately 18:30 on Tuesday, 10 August 2010, the PFLP organized a sit-in in
the Unknown Soldier Square in the center of Gaza City, in protest against the
continued electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip. The number of participants was approximately 500, including leaders and
members of the PFLP in Gaza.  The
participants raised signs calling upon the governments in the Gaza Strip and
the West Bank to find a solution for this crisis affecting the Gaza Strip’s
population. At approximately 20:00, the
Palestinian police arrived and requested the participants to leave the area and
end the sit-in, claiming that the sit-in was not licensed by the police. The PFLP’s members refused to leave the area and
insisted on continuing their activities according to the program prepared in
advance. However, the Palestinian police
called backups, fired in the air and attacked dozens of participants by gun
butts and clubs. Many of the
participants were transported to hospitals for medical treatment. The ones identified are:

1) Abdul Rahman al-Majdalawi;

2) Fayez Abu Ali;

3) Ayman Farahat;

4) Nabeel Barakat;

5) Sarah al-Saifi;

6) Ahmed ‘Aziza;

7) Mohammed Abu ‘Oun;

8) Abdullah Hejazi;

9) Ahmed al-Ajrami;

10) Waleed Abu Rokba;

11) Soheil Salman;

12) Atallah al-‘Amawi; and

13) Amjad Jouda.

It should be noted that PFLP followed all legal measures
needed for organizing the sit-in. In his
testimony to PCHR, Mr. Jameel Mezher, the Spokesperson of the PFLP, stated that
on 5 August 2010, the PFLP sent a letter to the police chief, informing him of the
time and place of the sit-in in accordance with the provisions of Public
Meetings Law #12 of 1998. On 9 August 2010, a day before the sit-in,
the police informed the leadership of the PFLP of rejecting the sit-in.

In light of the above, PCHR:

1) Strongly condemns the use of force by the police to disperse
the sit-in, which was called for by the PFLP, and emphasizes that civilians
have the full and legitimate right to organize public meetings, sit-ins and
peaceful demonstrations according to legal regulations.

2) Emphasizes that the police has no right to license or reject
any public meeting, or peaceful demonstrations, or any other type of peaceful
assembly, and that the law provides that organizers should only
“inform” the governor or police, as the police has the right to take
measures to “organize the traffic”.

3) Is concerned over the recurrence of such attacks on the
right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly, and confirms
that these rights are ensured under the basic law and the international human
rights standards.