Ref: 114/2008
Date: 17 December 2008
Time: 11:15 GMT
The Military Court in Gaza Sentences a Palestinian to Death; PCHR Calls upon President Mahmoud Abbas Not to Ratify the Sentence and Demands the Abolishment of Death Penalty from Palestinian Law
On Tuesday, 16 December 2008, the Palestinian High Military Court in Gaza headed by Military Judge Mohammed Nofal sentenced against Mohammed Ali Hassan Saidam, 34, from Rafah, to death by hanging. The Court convicted the defendant of treason, spying and conspiracy in violation of the Revolutionary Penal Code of Palestine Liberation Organization of 1979. The sentence, that had been issued in the presence of the defendant, was unanimously issued by the Court. It can be appealed.
It is worth noting that the Revolutionary Penal Code of Palestine Liberation Organization is unconstitutional in the Palestinian National Authority, as it has not been presented to nor approved by the legislature. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has repeatedly called for its abolition as it violates international standards of fair trial and does not include fair and independent mechanisms for appealing against court sentences. PCHR reminds that the Penal Code No. 74 for the year 1939 is applied in the Gaza Strip, while the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 for the year 1960 is applied in the West Bank.
Taking this latest sentence into account, a total of nine death sentences have been issued by Palestinian courts since the beginning of 2008. In addition, 3 sentences to death against 3 men issued in previous years have been supported. Thus, the number of death sentences issued by Palestinian courts (military courts, sate Security court and civil courts) has mounted to 83..
PCHR points with grave concerns to the increasing number of death sentences issued this year. According to PCHR documentation, four of the death sentences have been issued in the Gaza Strip and five ones in the West Bank. Most of these death sentences have been issued by military courts.
On 24 January, 2008, the Military Court in Gaza sentenced Yasser Sa’id Zanoun, 41, to death by firing squad. On 6 April, the Military Court in Jenin sentenced Tha’er Mahmoud Ramailat, 23, to death by firing squad. On 28 April, the Hebron Military Court sentenced ‘Emad Mahmoud Sa’ed, 25, to death by firing squad. On 15 July, the Military Court in Jenin sentenced Wa’el Sa’id Sa’ed, 27, and Mohammed Sa’ed Sa’ed, 44, to death by firing squad. On 20 July, the Military Court in Gaza sentenced thirty five year old Eyad Ahmed Sukkar, 35, from Gaza City, to death. And on 12 November, 2008, the Military Court in Bethlehem sentenced Ayman Ahmed Awwad Daghaghma, 24, to death by firing squad.
On 29 October 2008, the Gaza Court of Cassation supported the death sentences by hanging issued by the Court of Appeal on 14 June 2005 against 4 Palestinians: Eihab Diab Abu al-‘Amrain, 28; Rami Sa’id Juha, 28; and ‘Abdul Fattah Mohammed Sammour, 26. The same court changed a sentence against Sa’id Jameel Zuhod, 22, from life imprisonment to the sentence to death by hanging. At the time of committing the crime, Zuhod was 17 years old. Sentencing him to death is a violation of the international human rights instruments. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights issued in 1966 stipulates, in paragraph 5, that: “Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age….”
None of these sentences has yet been carried out, as the implementation of death sentences in the PNA controlled areas requires the Palestinian President’s ratification according to the Palestinian Basic Law.
PCHR is extremely concerned over the continued application of the death penalty in the PNA controlled areas, and therefore:
