2020-03-05
West Bank and Gaza Strip
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:
No to silence on torture crimes that affect human dignity, life, and physical integrity.
Issued on 5/3/2020
MUSAWA