Allegations of torture made by political detainee Abdel-Wahhab Hamad
Lawyers for Justice denounces that the detainee Abd al-Wahhab Hamad, 21 years, from Nablus, was tortured during his detention at the Preventive Security forces, according to what he told the group’s lawyer today, Thursday, August 11, 2022. According to Hamad, he suffered a work injury in the shoulder before he got arrest. He was deliberately beaten on the place of injury, neck and head, during interrogation against a political background. During today’s court session, the Nablus Magistrate’s Court issued a decision to extend Hamad’s detention for 10 days, on the grounds of a political charge, at the request of the Public Prosecution to complete the investigation. The Preventive Security forces arrested Hamad on August 9, 2022, from his home after 1:30 at night. Lawyers for Justice is concerned about the allegations of torture made by Abdel Wahab Hamad, expresses its deep concern for his health, safety and security, makes an urgent appeal for his immediate release, and the accountability of those who beat him, and those who violated the Palestinian Basic Law and Human Rights in dealing with Hamad and the detainees Politicians with whom the group has previously documented allegations of torture.
The political detainee Ahmad Hraish is being tortured
Lawyers for Justice group requests an urgent call for immediate intervention, in order to release political detainee Ahmed Hraish, who has been detained since 6/6/2022 by the intelligence agency in Jericho, related to what is known as the Beituniya carpentry case. The group, since 14/06/2022, mentioned in a statement that the detainee Hraish had stated earlier in the Jericho Magistrate’s Court that he had been subjected to torture, as following: “I am in Jericho’s prison cells since a week, they used strappado or corda (which the victim’s hands are tied behind his back and the victim is suspended by a rope attached to the wrists), my face is fully covered i couldn’t see anything through the cover, i was being hung and beaten with sticks and rubber, they used Falaka with me (Foot whipping, or bastinado is a method of inflicting pain and humiliation by administering a beating on the soles of a person’s bare feet) then they told me to stand up and dance. I’ve been tortured by bricks, iron, running reverse, and other torturing methods..”. Then, on 28/06/2022, Hraish stated in front of the Judge Diab al-Qawasmeh again, that he was constantly being tortured by the intelligence agaency in Jericho after the extension of the detention session, which took place on 14/06/2022. Yesterday, the detainee Hraish also declared before the General Attorney that he had been subjected to torture, and stated that there were efforts to compel him to accept very serious criminal charges that undermine his reputation and patriotism. The group requests an URGENT call for immediate intervention, and it is in the process of addressing all the competent official authorities in order to ensure the opening of a serious investigation into allegations of torture, and to demand the prosecution of a complaint of torture in accordance with due process of law fair trial.
A public statement on the suppression of the protest by An-Najah University students
Lawyers for justice group followed up on the bloody events that took place yesterday inside the campus of Al-Najah University in the city of Nablus, what accompanied these events was the repression and beatings of dozens of university security staff, reaching the point of serious harm, against students sitting on campus using their natural and legitimate right to express their opinions and demands in a safe university life. The group also monitored the beating of these protesters by using sharp tools that were in the possession of the aforementioned security forces, in addition the use of pepper gas in the face of the students, and the beating of one of the university lecturers while he was among the students. While the group expresses its disapproval and surprise at how things have turned out on campus, it looks at the behavior that has occurred that expresses a violent approach that is fueled by more aggression and hatred within a large scientific edifice such as Al-Najah University, until the university has become a place of human rights violations and attacks on human dignity, amid suspicious silence of the official institution and its executive bodies, which distanced themselves from interfering and standing up to their job responsibilities despite the torrent of blood on the university campus, until it came to chasing students in the public streets and shooting from weapons and guns.Considering the bloody events that took place are clear crimes, including attempted murder, which require the intervention of the Public Prosecutor to carry out his legal responsibilities by opening a criminal investigation and issuing orders to arrest everyone involved in the assault on students in order to preserve the status and prestige of the public right. The group also confirms that the official statements made by the Governor of Nablus Governorate, considering the events of An-Najah University an internal affair, are an inseparable part of the event, reflects the state of official disregard for human rights violations and disregard for crimes committed without interference by law enforcement officials, and at the time In which the detention centers of the security services are filled with dozens of political detainees without any legal basis, the outlaws are protected.
Detainees under torture in Jericho
Updates on the status of the political detainees Ahmad khaseeb and Ahmad Hareesh; our colleague lawyer Ahmed khaseeb, is detained for nearly a week by Palestinian security forces, he is being subjected to torture and abuse inside the Security Committee’s detention center, according to the testimony of lawyers who were able to see him yesterday after he was brought to the Jericho Magistrate’s Court. Detainees Ahmed Harish confirmed before the Jericho Magistrate’s Court judge that he was severely tortured at the place of his arrest.Therefore, lawyers for Justice confirms that torturing detainees is a crime committed by those in charge of enforcement the law, the detention centers which are under the supervision of the Public Prosecution are committing such crimes amid suspicious silence. The judiciary’s failure to take a position in this regard is considered a cover-up of these crimes, which requires for the intervention of all Human Rights and unions to determine their role and responsibility in confronting this behavior that contradicts the Palestinian Basic Law and human rights conventions. The group of Lawyers for Justice also emphasize that torture not only a crime punishable by law, also leads to the nullification of all investigation procedures, and therefore the group warns against dealing with any confessions obtained under the torture and the threat to which detainees are exposed.
They were forced to stand for three days in a “closet”: Lawyers for Justice documents violations against Birzeit University students during their detention
The Lawyers for Justice group monitored several serious human rights violations against students at Birzeit University; (YD) during 11 days of his detention, (A.S) 12 days, and (M.Q) 13 days. They were all arrested during the same period in December 2021 by the Intelligence Service in Ramallah. The detained students stated that they were locked up in a very narrow room (like a closet), in which there was no possibility of sitting, and they were chained for more than three days and nights, deprived of sleep and rest, and were forced to stand on their own feet throughout their confinement in this cramped room. Lawyers for Justice documented that the detained student A.S. was severely beaten in the first days of his detention. Furthermore, the intelligence service hanged the three students upside down while interrogating them on their student activities at Birzeit University and their interaction with student blocs. Moreover, their families were not allowed to visit. Accordingly, Lawyers for Justice condemns this blatant attack on students during their detention and the violation of human rights, and the encroachment on the freedom of their student activity. The group also calls for prosecuting those involved in the torture of students and to open an investigation into the detention conditions for political activists, students, and journalists. Lawyers for Justice group issued an urgent appeal to local and international human rights institutions to stand and pressure to stop political and student arrests and to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression, political action, and student activity, as guaranteed by the Palestinian Basic Law and human rights agreements.
Court session for those accused of killing Nizar Banat January 10, 2022
The Lawyers for Justice group attended, as a human rights observer, the court session of the 14 defendants in killing Nizar Banat in the Military Court in Ramallah today, Monday, January 10, 2022, in the presence of the 14 defendants, their defense lawyers, representatives of the military prosecution, and the lawyer of the Nizar Banat family. During the session, the court, at the request of the defendants’ defense, summoned the “information security expert (S.D)” to conduct expert work on the videos related to Banat’s murder case. The court granted him two weeks to present the report.Accordingly, the court postponed the hearing to January 23, 2022.
Lawyers for Justice documents a violation against the human rights of a political prisoner
Lawyers for Justice group documented grave human rights violations that activist “N.ِA” was subjected to during his arrest during the twenty days of his political detention.Although the court issued a decision to release him, it was not implemented, and his detention continued in a narrow and unclean cell without the minimum necessities of life. Moreover, he was exposed to verbal abuse, hanging, and sleep deprivation. The interrogators also tried to wage a psychological war on him by using phrases suggesting that they did not intend to release him.They prevented his family and lawyer from visiting him, and he was interrogated almost daily without any legal basis. And without respecting the detainee and dealing with him following human rights agreements to which Palestine is a party.Therefore, the group of Lawyers for Justice calls for an immediate investigation into the conditions of political prisons and the urgent release of all political detainees and ensures their protection and safety. It also appeals to the Attorney General to urgently enforce the law about the implementation of the release decisions issued by the Palestinian judiciary.
Noor Yasin
The trade union activist Nour Yassin was arrested by the Preventive Security Service in Nablus on 20/1/2020, where he was presented to the Public Prosecution in Nablus on 01/21/2020 and his detention was extended for 22/1/2020 for the purposes of hiring a lawyer, on the following day 22 / 1/2020 Nour was presented to the Public Prosecutor who investigated him on the charge of collecting and receiving funds from illegal associations, which is a political charge that the Public Prosecution used to direct to activists and political detainees. Nour, in turn, denied the charge and said (that his investigation with the Preventive Security Service revolves around his union activity as a representative of the Islamic Bloc at An-Najah National University). It is reported that Nour raised allegations of torture on multiple sites of his body, and the Public Prosecutor noted: (The accused limped on his right leg and asked (Nour) about the reason for that, he replied that he was beaten, rescinded, during interrogation). The next day, Nour was presented to the Nablus Magistrate Court, which extended his detention for four days at the request of the Public Prosecution, and then he was presented on the specified day after four days to the Nablus Magistrate Court, and his detention was extended for another five days. On Thursday 30/1/2020 , the Magistrate’s Court decided to release Yassin on bail of a thousand Jordanian dinars.
Muhanad Nasr
On 6/1/2020 Lawyers for Justice pursued the case of the political detainee Muhanad Nasr in front of the Public Prosecution Brigades in Ramallah, where he was interrogated on charges of collecting and receiving funds from illegal associations, a political charge that the Public Prosecution with respect to direct to political detainees. The effects of the political detainee Muhannad Nasr before the Public Prosecution in the presence of a representative of lawyers for justice, the lawyer Muhannad Karajeh, allegations of torture. Poor conditions of detention that he lives from the beginning of his detention on 5/1/2020, where he is placed suspicious in a small cell measuring 30 * 30 cm. Lawyers for justice the allegations raised by the detainee with the General Intelligence Service in Ramallah are considered a crime accountable by law, and in violation of the treaties and agreements signed by the State of Palestine. Lawyers for Justice considers this statement as a communication of the compassion of the Attorney General for the release of the detainee Muhannad Nasr and for the investigation of the allegations that have raised it.
Hamza Dar Abu Rabee
Lawyers for Justice expresses its deep concern at allegations of torture and miss-treatment received by the Political Intelligence Detainee in Ramallah, Hamza Dar Abu Rabee (20 years old), who is a resident of the Western Farm in Ramallah. In details, the General Intelligence Service arrested the young man, Abu Rabi`, from his workplace in a restaurant in the city of Al-Bireh on Sunday, December 22nd, knowing that Abu Rabi` is one of the wounded and is listed on the list of the wounded of the uprising, and he suffers from several diseases. On the day after his arrest, Monday, December 23, Hamza Dar Abu Rabi ‘was presented to the Public Prosecution office in Ramallah, and by him the office of “Lawyers for Justice”, where Hamza raised before the Public Prosecutor allegations of torture and miss-treatment, as he said by hanging his hands on the wall. And prevented him from taking a shower, as he suffers from a skin disease that necessitates his daily bathing, and his medications were only available on Monday evening, December 23, after his father was allowed to enter with his medication. In the context of the allegation of miss-treatment, Hamza said that he was threatened with placing a wet pouch in his mouth, and was also threatened with further torture, as investigators told him, “what’s coming is the greatest,” according to his account before the prosecution. The prosecution had charged Dar Abu Rabei with the charge of collecting recipients of funds from illegal associations, but he told the Public Prosecutor in the presence of “Lawyers for Justice” that his investigation revolved around his political activity. On Tuesday, the Magistrate Court extended the detention of political detainee Hamza Dar Abu Rabi for 15 days at the request of the Public Prosecution. Lawyers for Justice considers this statement a communication to the Prosecutor General to open an investigation into the allegations of torture and miss-treatment reported by Dar Abu Rabi, in compliance with the international agreements and treaties related to torture and miss-treatment signed by the State of Palestine.