Civil & political rights/Disappearances & summary executions – CHR – Special Rapporteur’s report (excerpts)

CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE QUESTIONS

OF DISAPPEARANCES AND SUMMARY EXECUTIONS

Report of the Special Rapporteur, on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,

Asma Jahangir

Addendum

Summary of cases transmitted to Governments and replies received

* The present document is being circulated in the languages of submission only as it greatly exceeds the page limitations currently imposed by the relevant General Assembly resolutions

Introduction

1. This addendum to the report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions describes 65 country situations and gives an account of actions undertaken by the Special Rapporteur from 2 December 2002 to 1 December 2003. It also contains in summary form the replies received from Governments to her communications, as well as observations of the Special Rapporteur where considered appropriate.

2. Owing to restrictions on the length of documents, the Special Rapporteur has been obliged to reduce details of communications sent and received.  As a result, requests from Governments to publish their replies in their totality could not be acceded to.

SUMMARY OF CASES TRANSMITTED AND REPLIES RECEIVED

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Israel

Communications sent

234. On 6 May 2003, the Special Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government of Israel regarding the following individual situations.

235. According to the information received, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) launched an operation in Jenin city as well as in the Jenin refugee camp which lasted from 3 to 18 April 2002. During these incursions, the following persons were reportedly killed.

236. Mundher al-Hajj, reportedly a member of a Palestinian armed group, was shot and injured on 3 April 2002. While lying on the ground and no longer armed, he was reportedly shot at in the back by a sniper. Medical staff allegedly made three attempts to rescue him, carrying white flags, but each time they were reportedly fired upon by the IDF. Hospital staff were able to reach him approximately two hours after he was first reported in need of medical help. By that time he was reportedly dead.

237. Hani Abu Rumaila was shot dead by IDF soldiers on 3 April 2002 as he was standing next to the gate of his house watching the soldiers. It was reported that Fadwa Fathi ‘Abdallah Jamal, a 27-year-old nurse, left her house nearby accompanied by her sister in order to help Hani Abu Rumaila. Although she was wearing her uniform marked with the Red Crescent symbol, she was allegedly shot dead by IDF soldiers while her sister was struck by a bullet in her upper thigh.

238. Imad Musharaka was allegedly shot dead by IDF soldiers on 3 April 2002 as he was trying to bring assistance to Amr Zubeidi (a leading member of the Palestinian group the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades), who had just been shot dead as he was emerging from a house. It was reported that Imad Musharaka was a civilian and that Amr Zubeidi was unarmed when the shooting took place. On the same day, Muhammad Hawashin was shot on his way to the hospital as he was allegedly accompanying Amr Zubeidi’s mother to see her son’s body.

239. Ahmad Hamduni was reportedly shot by IDF soldiers on 3 April 2002 in his neighbour’s house where he had allegedly taken refuge.

240. Afaf al-Desuqi was reportedly killed on 5 April 2002 when an explosive was used on the door of her home as she went to open it. She had been called to open the door by her neighbour, who was reportedly used as a “human shield” by the IDF to lead the way to the house.

241. ‘Abd al-Nasr Gharaib was reportedly shot in his home on 5 April 2002. IDF soldiers allegedly asked Mr.  Gharaib to come out of the house, but he was allegedly shot before he could do so. He reportedly received three bullets in the chest and one in the head.

242. Jamal al-Sabbagh was allegedly shot by the IDF after he was taken into their custody on 6 April 2002. According to the information received, at the time Jamal al-Sabbagh was shot, he was unarmed and posed no threat to the soldiers who detained him.

243. ‘Abd al Karim Sa’asi and Wadah Shalabi were reportedly shot dead by the IDF in an alleyway close to Mr. Sa’asi’s home on 6 April 2002. The two men were reportedly neighbours and lived near the entrance to the Jenin refugee camp. At the time of the shooting, it was reported that they were unarmed.

244. ‘Ali Muqasqas was reportedly shot when he went out to get some water for his family on 6 April 2002. A neighbour, Abu Khaled, was reportedly shot in the chest by a sniper posted in a helicopter while trying to help him. Both men reportedly died shortly afterwards.

245. Munir Wishahi was allegedly shot by Israeli forces while escaping from his home after they reportedly threw a bomb in his house on 6 April 2002. It was reported that no Palestinian gunmen was inside the house when the IDF troops began shelling it. Mariam Wishahi, Munir’s mother, was reportedly wounded when a tamk shell hit the kitchen, spraying her with shrapnel and causing a serious head wound. For the next day and a half, her husband, Issa Wishahi, desperately attempted to obtain medical assistance, but it was alleged that the Israeli soldiers repeatedly prevented ambulances from reaching their home; despite the fact the Wishahi home is located only a few hundred metres from Jenin’s main hospital. Mariam Wishahi reportedly died of her wounds on 7 April 2002.

246. Yusra Abu Khuri, a 60-year-old mentally impaired woman, was allegedly shot in her apartment, located near the entrance to the refugee camp, on 6 April 2002. She reportedly had the habit of standing by the window, singing or sometimes shouting. She was allegedly fired upon in that position from a helicopter on that morning.

247. On 5 April 2002 a group of some 50 IDF soldiers allegedly entered the home of the Mutahin family and decided to remain in it for the night. According to the information received, the Mutahin family was locked in one room and was not allowed to move. The next morning, the IDF soldiers announced that civilians had to leave the houses in the neighbourhood as they were planning to demolish some dwellings. The soldiers allegedly separated the men from the women and asked the men to take off their upper clothes and put their hands on their heads. Nizar Mutahin allegedly attempted to run away and was instantly shot down by the soldiers. Since the IDF had previously checked all the men in the house, it was unlikely that Nizar was armed at the time of the shooting. According to the information received, he was not involved in any Palestinian militant movement.

248. On 9 April 2002, Israeli bulldozers reportedly started demolishing the Saba’a’s home while the family remained inside. The patriarch of the family, Muhammad Abu Saba’a, reportedly went outside to ask the bulldozer operator to stop the demolition since his family was still in the house. The man allegedly agreed and started to leave the area. Muhammad Abu Saba’a was reportedly shot dead by an Israeli soldier as he returned to his home.

249. Jamal Fayed, disabled from birth, was killed in his home in the Jurrat al-Dahab area of the Jenin camp, when the IDF began bulldozing his house, which collapsed on him on 10 April 2002. Jamal’s mother and sister reportedly informed the IDF soldiers that Jamal was still inside. With the help of some neighbours, his mother reportedly tried to carry him but she had to abandon the house and her son when the IDF started bulldozing her house, although she allegedly yelled at the driver to stop.

250. Nayef ‘Abd al-Jaber and ‘Amid Fayed were reportedly killed on 10 April 2002 by helicopter machine gun fire in the al-Marah area of Jenin city, just outside the Jenin refugee camp. According to the information received, none of the young men was a member of any armed group and there reportedly was no shooting from armed Palestinians at the time.

251. Kamal Zghair, a 57-year-old impoverished, wheelchair-bound invalid, was shot by Israeli soldiers and ran over by a tank as he was coming back from a visit to a friend of his on 10 April 2002. While crossing the road, a white flag was reportedly attached to his wheelchair.

252. Faris Zaiban was shot dead by IDF soldiers on 11 April 2002, in the al-Maslah neighborhood of Jenin city, outside the Jenin refugee camp. According to the information received, civilians in the city of Jenin were informed that the curfew would be lifted for a few hours, allowing them to replenish vital food and other supplies. Faris Zaiban, who went out to buy some groceries, was allegedly shot dead near the Ibrahimi School.

253. In June 2002, the IDF launched another military operation in Jenin, allegedly killing the following persons.

254. According to the information received, on 21 June 2002 the IDF shot from a tank and killed two children, Ahmad (6) and Jamil Yusuf Ghazawi (12) who had gone out in order to buy some candy, as the IDF had just announced that the curfew had been lifted. Their brother Tareq was reportedly seriously wounded during the shooting, as was Dr. Samer al-Ahmad who was passing by in his car.

255. On the same day, Sujud Fahmawi was reportedly killed after she left her house believing that the curfew had been lifted.

256. According to the information received, on the evening of 21 June 2002, the IDF blew up an unoccupied house in the old city area of Jenin. The explosion also demolished an adjacent house, which contained eight members of the al-Sa’adi family, all of whom were trapped in the rubble. Two persons were allegedly seriously injured while a 12-year-old child, Fares, died. No warning was reportedly given to the family before the explosion, despite protests from a neighbour who was used during this military operation to check the adjacent house.

257. ‘Atiya Hassan Abu Irmalia was allegedly killed on 5 April 2002 in Jenin by a single IDF gunshot wound to the head while he was reportedly in his home with his wife and three children and was not involved in fighting.

258. Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old member of the International Solidarity Movement, was reportedly killed on 16 March 2003 while she participated in a demonstration with other activists against the demolition of a Palestinian building in the Rafah refugee camp. According to the information received, although she was wearing an orange fluorescent jacket clearly labelled “ISM” in order to alert the bulldozer drivers of her presence, she was allegedly hit by an armoured Israeli army bulldozer and reportedly died in hospital from her injuries.

259. According to information received, on 19 April 2003, Israeli soldiers opened fire on Nazeeh Adel Dawazah, a cameraman from Nablus city working for Palestine TV and Associated Press. He was allegedly killed instantly by a bullet to the head. The incident reportedly took place during an Israeli military incursion into the middle of Nablus city while Mr. Dawazah was filming a Palestinian child who was lying wounded on the ground near an Israeli tank.  One of the soldiers inside the tank reportedly pointed his gun at Mr. Dawazah from a distance of just a few metres. The cameraman, who was wearing a jacket labelled "Press", reportedly clearly identified himself to the soldier as a member of the press.  However, the soldier allegedly fired one shot at him and he died instantly.

260. On 29 July 2003, the Special Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government of Israel regarding information received stating that, on 10 June 2003, two Israeli Apache helicopters allegedly fired six missiles directly into the civilian car of Dr. Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, a senior Hamas political leader, on Izzaddin Al Qassam Street in Gaza City, reportedly completely destroying the car. A 50-year-old woman, Khadra Abu Hamada, who was passing in the street, was killed. One of Dr. Rantisi’s bodyguards, Mustafa Salih, was also killed, while 7-year-old Amal al-Jarushe sustained very critical wounds. In the car were Dr. Rantisi, aged 52, and his son, who were both reportedly injured. The attack reportedly took place during the rush hour in a densely populated area of the city. Medical personnel in Gaza allegedly confirmed that two people had died and 31 injuried, 7 of whom were in critical condition at the hospital after the explosion.  

261. On 18 September 2003, the Special Rapporteur and the Special Rapporteur on torture jointly sent a communication in connection with information received on the following individual cases.

262. Muhammad Ahmad 'Amer and his brother, Husni Ahmad 'Amer were reportedly taken into custody by the IDF on 7 April 2002 in the Jurrat al-Dahab area. Husni Ahmad 'Amer was reportedly subjected to severe beatings at the time of the arrest. Despite complaining of pain and asking for water, he was reportedly denied both medical assistance and water and was beaten again. The two brothers were subsequently taken to Bir Sa'adeh camp, where they were reportedly handcuffed with plastic ties, blindfolded and separated. Six hours later, they were allegedly taken in an armoured personnel carrier to Salem detention centre, where they were allegedly interrogated. In Salem, the condition of Husni Ahmad ‘Amer reportedly became very serious and he was eventually taken away in an ambulance. Muhammad Ahmad ‘Amer was reportedly released on the following morning but was not given any information about the whereabouts of his brother. It was reported that his family, as well as local human rights organizations, made repeated inquiries regarding Husni Ahmad 'Amer. They were allegedly told by the IDF that there was no record either of his detention or of his hospitalization. However, according to the information received, on 1 June 2002, the the family was informed that his body was being held at the Abu Kabir Centre for Forensic Medicine. On 6 June 2002, the Israeli High Court, acting on a petition from the family, reportedly prevented any further examinations on the body. On 13 June 2002, Muhammad Ahmad 'Amer was allegedly called to Abu Kabir to identify the body. The family reportedly requested an independent forensic examination to determine the cause of death.

263. Walid Mohammad Issa Amr, a 34-year-old man from Doura, near Hebron, imprisoned since 12 December 2001, reportedly died in the Nafha prison in the Negev desert on 19 February 2003. It was reported that on 18 February 2003 he called his brother and told him of his worsening medical condition and that the prison administration was neglecting his requests for medical assistance.

264. On 20 October 2003, the Special Rapporteur sent a communication to the Government of Israel in connection with the following individual cases.

265. Ayman Abu Zant, Mohammad Takruri and Firas Mabruka were reportedly killed by Israeli troops on 16 February 2003 in Nablus during an operation to arrest Taysir Khaled, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), as well as three of his associates. According to reports, Israeli troops accompanied by armoured personnel carriers attacked a Nablus building where the DFLP offices are located. The troops reportedly used megaphones to order Khaled and his associates to surrender, but allegedly opened fire on the crowd, killing the three men.  

266. Mohammad Murr, a 28-year-old man resident of a village south of Hebron city, was reportedly a Hamas activist wanted by Israel. On 18 February 2003, Israeli Special Forces reportedly disguised as Arabs as well as regular Israeli troops allegedly entered the village and surrounded his home. He reportedly attempted to flee his home and the Special Forces opened fire on him several times.   A soldier reportedly approached him and shot him dead. According to information received, he was not armed at the time of his death.

267. Nasser Abu Sufiyyeh, a 32-year-old man, was reportedly killed on 19 February 2003. According to reports, at around 6 a.m. he was heading to his workplace in the Jasmine quarter in Nablu’s old city with his father, who is over 70 years old. An Israeli jeep reportedly stopped them and, after checking their ID cards, detained and began beating his father. He was allegedly ordered at gunpoint by the soldier to leave the area without his father, which he did but, when he was at a distance of 40 m from the soldiers, one of them allegedly opened fire on him without any justification. He was reportedly shot three times in the back and died of severe internal bleeding.

268. Mohammad al-Saber, a 15-year-old boy was allegedly shot in the shoulder and killed while he was standing on the roof of an apartment building in the Ras al-Ein area. According to reports, at around 12:30 p.m. on 19 February 2003, an Israeli sniper shot him, allegedly from a higher position, killing him instantly.

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Palestinian Authority

Urgent appeal

234. On 6 June 2003, the Special Rapporteur and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers sent a joint urgent appeal to the Palestinian Authority in connection with information received regarding Sergeant Rani Darwish Khalil Shaqqura, a member of the Palestinian security services from Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, who was reportedly sentenced to death by firing squad on 17 May 2003 by a special military court. It was reported that his death sentence had to be ratified by President Yasser Arafat, after which he could be executed at any time. According to the information received, Mr. Shaqqura, who was held in Gaza Central Prison, was found guilty of the murder on 15 April 2003 of another member of the Palestinian security services, Captain Hani ‘Atiya al-Madhoun.  The killing was allegedly the result of an ongoing feud between their families. The court proceedings allegedly failed to meet international standards for fair trial. Indeed, it appeared that there was no legal basis for convening a military court, since such courts usually hear cases of security service employees in connection with offences committed during, or as part of, their work, which was not the case in the present instance. Additional procedural irregularities were also reported: the charge sheet was not presented to the prosecutor until the court reconvened for the second time on 26 April, and did not bear the signature and stamp of the civilian general prosecutor who had carried out the investigation, making it invalid. The defence lawyer reportedly objected to these and other irregularities. Nevertheless, as the court overruled all the points he raised, the defence lawyer reportedly withdrew from the case in protest. Consequently, the court allegedly appointed two security officers to act as defence lawyers for Mr. Shaqqura. However, although they had law degrees, they were reportedly not registered with the Bar Association and did not practise law. They allegedly received the documents relating to the case only hours before the hearing and did not appear to be entirely familiar with the case. According to reports, no witnesses were called to testify on Shaqqura’s behalf.

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