Posted on 03/03/2005 5:17:54 PM PST by Nate1984
The Palestinian Authority has decided to resume executions of prisoners on death row for the first time since August 2002, with 15 due to be carried out by the end of the month, a senior PA official in the Gaza Strip announced Thursday.
At least half of the inmates were convicted of "collaboration" with Israel, while the others were found guilty of murder in criminally-motivated offences.
Saeb al-Kidwa, head of the PA military courts, said 15 prisoners currently on death row "will be executed during this month."
He said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was expected to approve the executions soon after the PA mufti, Sheikh Ekrimah Sabri, endorses the sentences as required by law.
The mufti confirmed that he had been asked by Abbas to review the files of the prisoners, but added that none of them would be executed without the PA chairman's approval. He said he was initially given 15 cases for review, but only made recommendations in five.
"I am looking at these files to ensure the fairness, under (Islamic) sharia law, of the sentences handed down by the courts," he said.
"Delaying the execution orders encouraged the phenomenon of revenge in the Palestinian community," Sabri said.
"Revenge is absolutely forbidden by religion, and thus the Palestinian Authority should exercise its role, and people should not take the law into their own hands."
The last time the PA carried out a death sentence was in August 2002, when Bashir Atari, a 20-year-old mentally ill man from Ramallah, was executed by firing squad for the murder and rape of two women.
According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, nine death sentences have been carried out since the establishment of the PA in 1994 out of a total of 70.
"The mufti will deliver the files to the president and if he ratifies them, the executions will take place later this month," Kidwa said, pointing out that the mufti was reviewing the cases of 51 prisoners condemned to death.
He said the purpose of the executions was to send "a firm message to the population that we need a radical solution to the current security chaos."
Human rights groups appealed to Abbas to prevent the executions and to abolish the death sentence.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights urged Abbas "to stop the application of this cruel punishment which constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights and tarnishes the image of the Palestinian people in the eyes of the world."
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel also appealed to Abbas not to approve the executions.
"We condemn the widespread use of collaborators by the Israeli security forces and sympathize with the deep resentment of the Palestinian people against persons believed to be collaborating with the Israeli forces and understand that the Palestinian Authority has the right to take legal measures against those suspected of collaboration," the committee said in a letter to the PA chairman.
"However, at the same time, we strongly condemn the death sentences issued by the special court of criminal assize. We are opposed in principle to the death penalty, considering it a violation of the basic rights to life and to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
If they execute these guys, the Israelis should refuse to release any Pali prisoners.
Yeah, well, they had just better be over the age of 18!/sarcasm off
Unless, of course, they are minors in the womb.....
Abbas is running a risk here. I don't know what "collaborating" means under current Palestinian terms, but the whole idea of Israeli/Palestinian peace requires working together for peaceful cooperation.
These prisoners are being executed for either one of two things. Firstly, they may have been giving Israel information on terrorist groups within the disputed territories. Rather than executing these prisoners, a PA who cares about halting terrorism would hire them to track down such terrorists in an effort to curb events like the bombing last Friday in Tel Aviv. Secondly, the prisoners may have simply pissed off Abbas, gone against his rule, and now are being executed under the old "he's collaborating with the enemy" excuse which Arafat was so fond of. In either case, it's not a promising move.
Well, this will be very helpful...
Agreed. The State Department should let him know that shoring up his radical credentials by executing these prisoners is not helpful and will have consequences.
Ditto!!!!!!!
Very soon now!
But I'm not holding my breath.
Had to drop that in there, I'm sure.
wonder what France and Germany think of this...remarkably quiet on this when so vocal with everyone else...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.