2018-08-29

West Bank

Human Rights Defenders / West Bank / position paper

    
His Excellency Attorney general, Dr. Ahmad Barrak 

Subject: Procedures Affecting the Right to Physical Integrity, and Lack of the Professional Manner in Investigations

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extends its warmest greetings to your Excellency.

On August 28th 2018, MUSAWA received a written complaint from the citizen: ______, from_____/ near _____, saying that several complaints were filed against his son ______, who suffers from schizophrenia, for issuing bad checks. The complaints were filed with _____ Prosecution office when the defendant was in therapy. The complaints were dismissed according to official medical reports and after referring the defendant to Bethlehem’s hospital by the general prosecution office. 

The complainant added in his complaint, in which he ensured that he will bear all the consequences; if his claims were proved invalid, that a new complaint was filed against his abovementioned son, and on its impact, the police, and some members of the prosecution office, summoned several persons from the complainant’s village, including _____ (20 years old), and _____ (20 years old), who were both summoned by a formal notification and by a formal phone call, to be questioned by a police officer and a prosecution assistant, on whether the son of the complainant is mentally stable or not, which affected his son’s emotions negatively, so that he keeps calling out their names (the two witnesses) while taking his treatment. 

As an independent non-governmental watchdog organization, MUSAWA asks your Excellency to consider this complaint, and to take the necessary legal action in its regard- if its facts were proved valid- to ensure accounting the people who caused this physical and physiological integrity affecting behavior, that has unforeseen effects on the complainant’s son’s life and future, besides violating the professional and legal manner of investigation, as proving mental responsibility requires a specialized substantive proof. 

We hope your Excellency would kindly to keep us updated of any action taken in this regard, including referring the perpetrators to the Judicial and administrative Inspection duly, to ensure the rights of the complainant and his son, and to stop such incidents from happening again.  

With All Due Respect
MUSAWA                                                                Issued On 29/8/2018