Ref: 67/2007
Date: 22 July 2007
Time: 12:00 GMT
PCHR Condemns the Murder of 3 Young Women in the Gaza Strip
PCHR condemns the murder of 3 young women in ambiguous circumstances in the Gaza Strip. The bodies of the 3 victims were deposed in the cemetery in Wadi Salqa to the east of Deir El-Balah. The Centre calls for a serious investigation into the crime, and for prosecuting the perpetrators.
PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 22:00 on Saturday, 21 July 2007, unknown persons in a jeep dumped the bodies of three young women in a grave in the Martyrs Cemetery in Wadi Salqa area to the east of Deir El-Balah. They covered the grave and left the area. At approximately 00:00 on Sunday, 22 July 2007, the bodies were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after residents informed the Executive Force of the incident. The bodies were transferred to the forensic department at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Sources in the hospital indicated that the ages of the victims ranged from 16-22 years; and that they were killed by multiple stabs to the neck and face. PCHR learned that the three victims were sisters: Suha Said Juha (19), Lina Said Juha (22), and Nahed Said Juha (16). The motive for this crime remains unknown. However, there is a general perception that it was a crime of “honor killing.”
PCHR strongly condemns this crime, and:
Calls for a serious investigation into the murder of the three young women, and for prosecuting the perpetrators.
Points to the recurrence of honor killings in the Gaza Strip due to the impunity granted to killers through reduced sentences, knowing that such crimes take honor killings as cover to get reduced sentences.
Calls for deterrent steps against honor killings, which must be treated as premeditated murder, taking into consideration international human rights standards.
