The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
has condemned the execution of five prisoners by Hamas, the de
facto authorities in Gaza, in a statement released today.
Five men were executed in the early hours of 4 September 2022, an
act which, says the Office, was in stark violation of the State
of Palestine’s own domestic law and its obligations under
international law.
Three were convicted of murder and two of “collaboration” with
Israel. According to media reports, the executions were the first
in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2017.
In the OHCHR statement, Ravina
Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office, said that none of the
executed prisoners were given the opportunity to seek clemency or
a pardon.
Ms. Shamdasani urged the de facto authorities in Gaza to
establish a moratorium on all executions, and called on the State
of Palestine to take robust measures to abolish the death penalty
in all its territory.
A number of other international, as well as Palestinian rights
groups, have reportedly condemned the death penalty, which was
not approved by the Mahmoud Abbas, the President of Palestine.
In the statement, Ms. Shamdasani declared that there are “serious
concerns that criminal proceedings resulting in the imposition of
death sentences in Gaza do not meet international fair trial
standards,” and noted that the approval of President Abbas is
required by national law.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR),
courts in Gaza have sentenced around 180 Palestinians to death,
executing 33, since Hamas took control in 2007. Under
the Second Optional Protocol
to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
a General Assembly resolution aimed at abolishing the death
penalty, Palestine is obliged to abolish executions.
