2018-12-12

Ramallah

West Bank

Success Story: The Grievance and Human Rights Office at the Palestinian Police Responds to MUSAWA's MEMO

Article 17 of the Palestinian Basic Law provides for “Homes shall be inviolable; they may not be subject to surveillance, broken into or searched, except in accordance with a valid judicial order and in accordance with the provisions of the law. Any consequences resulting from violations of this article shall be considered invalid.  Individuals who suffer from such violation shall be entitled to a fair remedy, guaranteed by the Palestinian National Authority”, and article 13 of the same law provides for ‘No person shall be subject to any duress or torture. Indictees and all persons deprived of their freedom shall receive proper treatment”.

The Beginning of the problem

On 15 October 2018, the center received a written complaint from the citizen Ahmad Nathif Abd AlMajid Mansour, from the village of Biddu, in which he stated that on the first of October, police members of Biddu and the suburban’s center, have raided his brother’s house, whose name is Mohammad Nathif Abd AlMajid Mansour, at 4:30 am, and damaged the door and broke into the house without permission, while the complainant’s brother, his wife, and children were sleeping, and that his brother was severely beaten by an officer who said he was angry at him while beating him, then was arrested. The complainant added that he lives in the same building where his brother lives, that is why he woke up when hearing the raiding sounds.

In his complaint, the complainant mentioned that his brother suffers from dizziness because of the beating he was subjected to during the arrest and after it and that his two children panicked due to the humiliating way their house was broken into. The complainant added that the police members have ripped off the bedroom’s window right before breaking into the house, noting that the arrest of his brother is on the basis of a civil executive case and that the detaining officers arrested him without a subpoena, and told his parents that they are on “a collecting mission” according to the complainant’s family.

MUSAWA’s Interventions

By reference to the above-mentioned articles of the Palestinian Basic Law, and article 39 of the current Penal Procedure Law that states:” 1) Entering and searching homes is an act of investigation which may not be conducted except pursuant to a search warrant from the Public Prosecution or in its presence, either on the basis of an accusation charging a person living in the house required to be searched of committing or participating in the commission of a felony or misdemeanor, or on the basis of strong evidence that he is in possession of items related to the crime. 2) The search warrant must be reasoned. 3) the warrant is made out in the name of one or more judicial officers”, and with reference to the provisions of the second paragraph of the eight article of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure that states “ Any notification may not be made or executed before seven in the morning or after seven in the evening or on official holidays except in cases of urgency and with the written permission of the judge of summary matters or the judge of execution, as the case may be”, all of the mentioned provisions prove the procedures against the complainant invalid and requires  liability and compensation.

Drawing upon the previous provisions, on 16/10/2018, MUSAWA has sent a legal memo to the Attorney General, Dr. Ahmad Barak and the Director of the Ombudsman and human rights’ Office at the Palestinian Police, Colonel Rodaina Bani Odeh, entitled “Violating the Sanctity of the Home and a Humiliating Arrest”. The two mentioned addressees were sent a reminder memo urging them to address the case with a view to guarantee the citizen’s rights and ensure that the citizen’s basic rights will not be infringed in the future, given that MUSAWA sends reminder memos one month after sending the first basic memo, which in this case has not received any reply from the competent authorities.

The Palestinian Police Initiate an Investigation into the Case

The day following sending the reminder memo, the Director of the Ombudsman and human rights’ Office at the Palestinian Police, Colonel Rodaina Bani Odeh, contacted MUSAWA and informed it that the office will reach out to the complainant’s brother to get his statement, which was confirmed by the complainant’s family, and on 3/12/2018, MUSAWA has received an email from the Ombudsman and human rights’ Office at the Palestinian Police stating that “After viewing the judicial orders and the medical report provided by the Military Medical Services, and as we found some suspicions of legal transgressions, the file was referred to the commission of inquiry and the disciplinary councils, and we will update you with the results promptly”.

The Palestinian Police’s response identifies the suspicions of legal transgressions raised by MUSAWA’s memo and undertakes to inform MUSAWA on the results of the investigation. On its party, MUSAWA considers positively the Police’s response to its demands and hopes that duty holders will adhere to the law provisions without exceeding their authorities or being abusive while implementing them. MUSAWA also hopes that a legal action would be taken in a way that ensures reducing the repetition of such law violations, as they directly affect the citizen’s security and basic rights, holding accountable both the perpetrators of these violations and the ones who gave them the order, and ensuring the complainant’s rights, including his right to compensation for the damages caused by the police’s unlawful conduct that exceeded their competences and duties.