Hamas to Persist With Public Executions Despite Objections
The Hamas government is still planning to carry out public executions despite appeals by human rights groups to reverse the decision.
Ismail Jaber, the attorney general in Gaza, confirmed on Aug. 11 that the public prosecution is waiting for the approval of the Council of Ministers in Gaza to implement the death penalty for a "criminal," after all legal proceedings against him were exhausted.
In a press statement, Jaber said, "The death sentence will be carried out as we have said after the [Eid al-Fitr] holiday," adding that the sentence would likely be carried out by the end of August. He did not specify the public place where the execution will take place.
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The Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) condemned the judgments and reiterated their ongoing rejection on the grounds that they “violate the right to life.” The commission stressed that the issuance of death sentences is the prerogative of the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) under the Criminal Code of Procedure No. 3 of 2001, and that any execution of a death sentence without the president’s ratification is contrary to the provisions of the Palestinian law.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/08/gaza-hamas-death-penalty-amnesty.html