PRESS RELEASE

The Palestinian General Intelligence Services Continue to Arrest Wae’l Faraj in Defiance of the Decision of the Palestinian High Court of Justice

Ref.,: 23/99

Date: 1^st March, 1999

For the ninth consecutive day, Palestinian General Intelligence Services continued to defy the order of the highest Palestinian judicial authority to release Wae’l Ali Faraj. The Palestinian High Court of Justice ordered the immediate release of Faraj on February 20 after the Palestinian Attorney General’s office failed to bring legal evidence to justify his arrest over the last three years by the Palestinian General Intelligence Services.

Wae’l Faraj was arrested on April 25, 1996 by the Palestinian General Intelligence Services without a warrant and without due process. On behalf of his family, lawyers from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) followed up this file until the High Court of Justice ordered his immediate release. Non-compliance with the High Court of Justice decision has led PCHR to remain active on behalf of Faraj.

PCHR expresses its deep concern over the continued defiance by Palestinian security forces of court decisions. Such disregard of court decisions is a violation of Palestinian law, but one that to date has gone unpunished. PCHR believes that such behavior contradicts the principle of the rule of law and undermines the independence of the Palestinian judiciary.

PCHR also notes that Dr. Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi remains under arrest by the Palestinian police despite a similar decision by the High Court of Justice ordering his release on June 4, 1998.

 

For More Information Contact

Palestinian Centre for Human RightsTel/Fax: (+) 9727 2824776/2823725

E-mail: [email protected]