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Press Release: Gaza court issues sixth death sentence of 2021

Al Mezan calls for the abolition of the death penalty

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12 September 2021 |Reference 83/2021

On Sunday, 12 September 2021, the Court of First Instance in Gaza City sentenced a 34-year-old man to death by hanging following his conviction for the murder of 27-year-old Mohammed Hamed Abu Sahloul. The indictment also includes illegal possession of a firearm, attempted murder, and discharging a firearm in public.

 

Al Mezan’s documentation shows that this is the sixth death sentence issued by authorities in the Gaza Strip in 2021 and the twenty-fourth since the State of Palestine ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), in 2019, which aims at the abolition of the death penalty.

 

Al Mezan reiterates its criticism of the use of the death penalty, as the practice constitutes a form of inhuman punishment contrary to international legal standards. It is also widely regarded as ineffective in preventing or deterring serious crimes. Al Mezan recalls that Palestinian authorities in Gaza are obligated to uphold Palestine’s obligations under international human rights law that arise from the State’s accession to international treaties, notably the ICCPR and its optional protocol.

 

Therefore, Al Mezan calls on all competent Palestinian authorities to immediately stop issuing death sentences, to completely abolish the practice, and to comprehensively review and revise relevant laws in order to ensure compliance with Palestine’s international obligations and human dignity.

 

 

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