Ref: 95/2022
Date: 04 August 2022
Time: 12:00
Masked gunmen kidnapped two brothers, from al-Nuseirat refugee camp, and detained them for 4 days. During their detention, the two brothers were interrogated and tortured, including severely beating them. Also, the gunmen opened fire at one of them and wounded him in the abdomen. They were later released, and the wounded was hospitalized in serious condition, as he underwent several surgeries.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the kidnap and detention of the two brothers, who were severely beaten while one of them was shot, by an armed group. PCHR emphasizes that the only party authorized to arrest or detain is the law enforcement services, according to the Palestinian Law, and neither other armed parties nor its members have the right or authority to deal with civilians in any way.
PCHR’s staff met with one of the victims (‘A. F. A.) (23), from al-Nuseirat refugee camp, and his mother. (‘A. F. A.) said that at approximately 21:00 on Wednesday, 27 July 2022, an SUV travelled by gunmen kidnapped him when he was near his house in the camp without identifying themselves. He added that they took him to an unknown destination, where they interrogated him after he was blindfolded, and his hands and legs were tied to the chair. They then started kicking and beating him with plastic hoses. (‘A. F. A.) affirmed that his brother (‘A. F. A.) (25), was with him in the same place and being tortured by the gunmen. Meanwhile, he heard gunshots close to him and was sure that his brother was shot after hearing one of the gunmen making a phone call to bring an ambulance. After 4 days of detention, he was taken to a place near his house and released there.
The victims’ mother (R. A.) (47) said that after her sons were kidnapped, she informed the competent authorities to follow up the incident as she went to the Police Station in al-Nuseirat refugee camp, the Police Governor’s Office in Central Gaza Strip and the office of the Interior Ministry’s Comptroller General and told them about what happened to know the fate of her two sons. However, none of these authorities took the necessary measures to identify the kidnap circumstances. Four days later, she was informed by the General Investigation Service (GIS) that her son (‘A. F. A.) (25) was at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, and he sustained a live bullet wound. Therefore, she went to the hospital and found that her son underwent several surgeries in his abdomen and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The mother then returned home and found her other son released, but in bad health condition with signs of torture over all his body.
PCHR strongly condemns this serious attack against the two brothers and calls upon public prosecution to open a serious investigation into the incident, bring the perpetrator to justice and publish the investigation results.
PCHR reiterates that any armed group is neither a police nor judicial force, and its members have no right or authority to deal with civilians the way they did in this incident. PCHR emphasizes that the only party competent to exercise the power of the law enforcement services is the public prosecution, according to Article (19) of the Criminal Procedures Law No. 3 of 2001.