2020-03-05

West Bank and Gaza Strip

Human Rights Defenders / West Bank / Gaza / position paper

Turning a Blind Eye to Torture Crimes Protects the Perpetrators and Makes You a Partner in crime

Silence is an attitude of subservience that is no longer acceptable

Turning a Blind Eye to Torture Crimes Protects the Perpetrators and Makes You a Partner in crime

MUSAWA- The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession express its shock at the transcripts of the trial concerning the murder of a member of Al-Gharraf family from Jericho, who was killed at the Millennium hotel in Ramallah, which was widely shared on media and social media platforms. The transcripts revealed that those suspected of having committed the crime have been subjected to brutal, sadistic, and inhumane torture, indicating that law enforcement agencies and the Public Prosecution flagrantly violate the requirements and duties of the public office, while the officials at the mentioned bodies are supposed to take all measures to address and hold accountable those who commit torture, not to engage in incite, or direct such crime.

Even though several days have passed since disseminating the content of these transcripts, which were written under the supervision of the trial panel, the leaders and officials of these bodies remained silent and no clear position was adopted for their part. For example, the Public Prosecution did not declare the legal requirement to be taken against its members accused of the crime of torture, the details of which were recorded in those transcripts. Moreover, the Judicial Department and the Transitional High Judicial Council, selected by the executive authority to reform the judiciary and the Public Prosecution Service, did not take any action to refer the public prosecutors, whose names appear in the official judicial records, to the investigation, discipline and prosecution, if found guilty on conviction, not to mention that there has been no official announcement of the Authority's obligation to compensate the defendants for their suffering if they were found to have been subjected to brutal torture.

It is noteworthy that this crime of torture is not the first of its kind; two bank robbery suspects were also tortured, and the suspects' allegations of torture were recorded in the official judicial records, however, no action was taken by the official and responsible officials in the law enforcement authorities, prosecution, and the judiciary against those accused of this crime of torture.

The crimes of torture coincided with the official acknowledgment of the death of a prisoner of conscience in Gaza as a result of the violation of his rights to physical integrity and the continuation of the arrest and detention based on the expression of opinion. These crimes of torture were also accompanied by the official claim to have started the preparation of the legislative authority for the Committees for the Prevention of Torture in compliance with the requirements of Palestine's accession to the Convention against Torture and the protocols thereunder.

MUSAWA believes that the silent treatment, if not the coverage and protection of the perpetrators of torture, who occupy important positions in the justice system, which the public prosecutor is an important part of, is not only intolerable but considered an act of complicity in the crime of torture, thus exposing community security and civil peace to serious risks that could lead to undesirable chaos.

Accordingly, we demand the following:

1. The alleged perpetrators of torture and those who incite or cover it up shall be suspended from office and divested of their powers.
2. The alleged perpetrators of torture and those who facilitate or incite it shall be referred to an independent commission of inquiry from outside the Public Prosecution, and referring the offenders found guilty to a fair and open trial.
3. In conjunction with the criminal accountability procedures, we call upon the Transitional Council, which administers the judiciary, despite our opposition to the procedures of its composition, its components and its powers, to refer the Public Prosecutors alleged to have committed, participated in, incited or covered up the crime of torture to the administrative investigation and the Disciplinary Board, to prosecute those found culpable of such offenses administratively to ensure their removal from their posts.
4. The official announcement by the government of its commitment to compensate all the victims.
5. The executive branch shall enable civil society organizations to visit and monitor all arrest houses and detention centers, issue instructions prohibiting all forms of torture, ensure periodic supervision of the performance of the investigative staffs at the law enforcement agencies, including the security agencies and the Public Prosecution Service, guarantee the detainees’ right to communicate with their lawyers, and to conduct investigations in the presence of their agents.
6. To publish all information on cases of torture and dismiss all perpetrators from their offices.
7. An immediate cessation of political detention and the release of all prisoners of conscience.

No to silence on torture crimes that affect human dignity, life, and physical integrity.

Issued on 5/3/2020

MUSAWA