Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) demands inquiry into death of man believed to be tortured to death by Palestinian Internal Security Services

Investigation sought after Gaza man tortured to death by security forces

Date: 09 / 02 / 2009  Time:  15:20

Gaza – Ma’an – A Palestinian human rights organization is calling for an investigation in to the death of a Gazan man it says was tortured to death by Palestinian security forces in Gaza. According to the independent Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Jameel Shafiq Shaqqura, 51, from Khan Yunis refugee camp Internal Security Services and subsequently died of his injuries. According to PCHR’s investigation, the security forces delivered Shaqqura to a hospital on 31 January. He died on Friday after his condition deteriorated while in custody. The victim’s brother, Aatef Shaqqura told PCHR that on 30 January Jameel and three others were summoned to the Khan Yunis Sports Club for questioning “in a case they knew nothing about.” “At approximately 06:30 on Saturday, 31 January, I received a phone call from a staff member of Nasser Hospital, who informed me that my brother Jameel had been admitted into the hospital and that he was in a serious condition. I went to the hospital immediately,” Aatef Shaqqura said. “When I saw my brother, I saw signs of beating on his head and limbs. Jameel told me that as soon as he and his friends entered Khan Yunis Sports Club, they were handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination, where they were violently beaten. He added that security officers beat him to force him to change a testimony in the case. He fainted due to being subjected to violent beating.” According to PCHR, On Saturday evening, a delegation of Hamas members, headed by Younis Al-Astal, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) went to pay their condolences to the Shaqqura family in Khan Yunis. Al-Astal delivered a speech in which he indicated that Shaqqura had been unjustly killed, and that Hamas was responsible for his death. He added that a commission of inquiry had been established, and the movement would comply with the results of the inquiry. Al-Astal stated that “This offense has made the movement stricter in its instructions to the Internal Security Service.”

Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza arrests alleged spy ring

Interior ministry announces arrest of spy ring

[ 03/02/2009 - 07:31 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)– The Palestinian interior ministry in Gaza reported Tuesday that the security apparatuses arrested several groups on a charge of providing Israel with information about the Palestinian resistance. Ihab Al-Ghussein, the spokesman for the interior ministry, said that the security apparatuses were able to arrest a spy ring spearheaded by Mohamed Al-Habbash, a nephew of the minister of social affairs in the PA unconstitutional Ramallah government, which collected information about the resistance a few days before the Israeli war started on Gaza. Ghussein added that the mission of this spy ring was to gather information on the whereabouts of the resistance fighters and then send it to PA officers in Ramallah who in turn hand over the information to Israel. He also pointed out that the security apparatuses are still in pursuit of other groups who fled during the war, noting that all the spies will be brought to justice as soon as possible. The arrest of the spy ring came days after information leaked from the Israeli intelligence had said that Israel lost contact with some of its Fatah-affiliated spies during the war on Gaza. The PLC committee of interior and security stated Tuesday that the Palestinian resistance which handled the file of spies during the Israeli war on Gaza had submitted and referred this file to the interior ministry in order to assume its role in punishing the transgressors. Ismail Al-Ashqar, the rapporteur of the PLC security committee, underlined that during the 23-day Israeli aggression on Gaza, the fifth column and a group of collaborators had a very big role in informing the IOF troops about the resistance, their homes, governmental facilities and many other targets.  Ashqar added that the security committee received confirmed information that Israel’s security coordination with the PA security apparatuses in the West Bank played a major role in guiding the IOF troops during the war. As for why the Palestinian government in Gaza let the resistance handle the file of spies, the rapporteur explained that during the war, the country was in a state of emergency, where there was an all-out war which destroyed all the security and governmental institutions and centers including prisons, so the Palestinian resistance was at that time entitled to take decisions regarding this file.