2019-10-29

West Bank

Human Rights Defenders / West Bank

His Excellency the head of the Judicial Inspection Department, Judge. Fawwaz Atiyyah,

Subject: Justice Delays Caused By The Reluctance Of Law Enforcement's Witnesses To Attend Court Sessions

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extends its warmest greetings to your Excellency, noting that on June 23, the center received a written complaint from a citizen, who resides in Ramallah, claiming that her father has been in pre-trial detention at Jericho Prison since 2012 in connection with the criminal case No. …... and that the litigation proceedings and consideration of the mentioned case have been delayed, time and again, due to the unavailability of the Public Prosecution’s witnesses, in despite of the notifications sent duly to them, the warrants issued in their regard, and in total ignorance of the Public Prosecution’s mandate to bring them to court, since they belong to the Law Enforcement Body, and despite the fact that the defendant has been in custody for more than 4 years due to the non-availability of the main witness, namely: ………, whose attendance is pivotal in the next court session, which is planned to be held on November, 6^th.  At the backdrop of this complaint, MUSAWA sent a legal memo to the General Attorney on July 22, and never received any reply, added to which the complainant’s initiative to file a complaint at your distinguished department last July, but still, the case remains at a standstill.  

Based on the foregoing, MUSAWA believes that the above-mentioned case entails a violation of the defendant’s right to a fair trial, given that it is unlawful to postpone court hearings for the same reasons more than once, much less in this case, the hearings were delayed several times, affecting the defendant’s right to access to justice and committing an evident grievance by delaying justice, while the dilemma can be simply solved by the Public Prosecution, which is mandated to bring them to justice. Thus, we ask your Excellency to consider our memo, to take the needed legal action in its regard, including opening an inquiry into refraining from implementing the judicial decision on ensuring the attendance of witnesses, and holding accountable those responsible for the breach of the duties and obligations of the Judicial function, and keeping us updated with the action taken by your side duly.      

With All Due Respect,

Issued on 29/10/2019

The Legal Monitoring Officer

Adv. Angham Mansour

Attachments:

• The complaint