Ref: 112/2009

Date: 01 November 2009

Time: 12:10 GMT

Permanent Military Court in Gaza Issues Death Sentence:

PCHR Urges President Abbas not to Ratify the Sentence and to Abolish Death Penalty

On 29 October 2009, the Permanent Military Court in Gaza, headed by Judge Rami ‘Ashour, sentenced Abdul Kareem Mohammed al-Abed Sherir, 35, from Gaza city, to death by firing squad after convicting him of treason and participation in murder. Sherir who was a soldier in the Palestinian police was detained on 9 August 2008.  

The Court charged the defendant with:

i)        treason in violation of Article 131 a, Article  134, Article 140/ b and Article 148 of the Palestinian Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979,

ii)       participation in murder in violation of Article 378 a as referred to in Article 88 a of the Palestinian Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979.

The Court sentenced the defendant to death by firing squad in accordance with the Articles referred to in the charges and article 415 of the Palestinian Penal Measures Code # 3 of 2001. The sentence, which is appealable, was issued by consensus in the presence of the defendant.

The number of death sentences issued by Palestinian courts during 2009 now stands at 11 sentences, including two sentences issued in the West Bank and nine in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) notes that the 1979 Palestinian Penal Law is the Revolutionary Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  It is unconstitutional within the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as it has not been presented to, nor approved by, the legislature.  PCHR has repeatedly called for its abolition as it violates international fair trial standards and does not include fair and independent mechanisms of appeal.

PCHR is extremely concerned over the continued application of the death penalty in the PNA controlled areas, and therefore:

1. Calls upon the PNA to announce an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, which violates international human rights standards and instruments, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Additional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and the UN Convention against Torture (1984).
2. Calls upon Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas not to ratify these cruel and inhumane sentences, and to prevent their implementation.
3. Reiterates that abolishing the death penalty does not imply leniency towards dangerous criminals, who must be subjected to punishment that acts as a deterrent but also maintains human dignity.
4. Calls upon the PNA to stop applying the Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979 of the Palestine Liberation Organization as it is unconstitutional. 
5. Calls upon the PNA to review all legislation relative to the death penalty – particularly Law No. 74 (1936) that remains in effect in the Gaza Strip, and the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 (1960) that remains in effect in the West Bank – and to prepare a unified penal code that conforms to the spirit of international human rights instruments, especially those pertaining to the abolition of the death penalty.