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Press release: Woman beaten to death in Gaza: Al Mezan condemns the heinous crime and calls for justice

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29 May 2020 |Reference 32/2020

A 21-year-old woman was pronounced dead at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the early hours of Friday morning, 29 May 2020. The young woman, resident of Zawaida town in Middle Gaza district, had been admitted to the hospital at midnight in critical condition with signs of bruising on her body.

 

The body of the deceased was transferred to the Forensic Department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which identified injuries to the head and body due to exposure to severe beating as the cause of death.

 

The police has launched an investigation into the incident and indicated that the young woman was subjected to aggravated battery by her father during a family dispute. The assailant remained at large after the incident until Saturday evening, 30 May 2020, when the police located and apprehended him.

 

Al Mezan condemns the incident and stresses that such crimes against women are unjustifiable, and calls on the competent authorities to enforce the full process of law without discrimination and without resorting to unacceptable ‘extenuating circumstances’ that have been used to justify laxity  when prosecuting perpetrators of such criminal acts against women. Any laxity shown to shield the perpetrator from the maximum possible penalty under the law will only serve to perpetuate such criminal acts, including killing of women in the name of the so-called “family honor”.