Its a pigs fly moment for Human Rights Watch, who has just issued a report highlighting the failure of the criminal justice
system in Gaza under Hamas. The "democratically elected" regime routinely conduct arrests without warrants, deny detainees access to a lawyer and torture detainees in
custody. Since Hamas seized control in 2007, it has executed at least three men on the
basis of “confessions” obtained by torture. According to the
Independent Commission for Human Rights, Hamas' Internal Security agency, the drugs unit of the police
force and local detectives all torture detainees. 147
complaints of torture have been reported in 2011.
This report is based on interviews conducted in Gaza in May 2011, based on interviews with ex-detainees, prisoners' families, lawyers, officials and human rights activists and a Gaza judge.. Names were redacted from the report to protect the participants from reprisals. Recommendations and guidelines were presented to Hamas officials- their response? To deny the charges.
From Joe Stork, deputy Middle
East director of Human Rights Watch "After five years of Hamas rule in Gaza, its criminal justice system
reeks of injustice, routinely violates detainees' rights, and grants
impunity to abusive security services. Hamas should stop the kinds of abuses that
Egyptians, Syrians and others in the region have risked their lives to
bring to an end."
No comments:
Post a Comment