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PCHR Condemns State Security Court Decision
Date: 9 April 2002
Ref: 55/2002
The State Security Court convened late in the evening on Saturday 6 April, to consider the cases of six Palestinians suspected of collaboration with Israel. After a matter of hours, the Court handed down death sentences to all six defendants. One of the six was a minor, whose death sentence was then commuted to life imprisonment. PCHR has appealed to President Arafat not to ratify and, therefore, not to implement, the death sentences. PCHR has consistently criticized the State Security Courts which fail to reach even the minimum international standards for a fair trial. PCHR is particularly concerned at the handing down of death sentences without any formal opportunity for appeal. PCHR asserts that the current emergency situation can not be used to justify any deviation from international human rights standards.
The six defendants are:
Mohammed Thabet Khalil R’ae, from Gaza
Sami Khader Ismail Hajji, from Gaza
Mahmoud Mohammad Abdelsalam A-Sharif, from Gaza
Suhir Sh’ada Zaqout, from Gaza
Hossam Zuhdi Mohammad al-Hissi, from Khan Younis
Abdel Khalim Masoud Hamdam, (15 years old).
PCHR reiterates;
its rejection of the State Security Courts which fail to meet minimum international standards on rights to a fair trial;
its rejection of the death penalty as a violation of the right to life;
and the right of all suspects to minimum standards of treatment, including with regards to arrest, conditions of detention, knowledge of the charge, right to legal counsel, and the right to a fair trial by a competent body.