Jerusalem
Act Daily News
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The household of a Palestinian activist who died whereas in Palestinian Authority custody has filed a “war crimes and torture” case with the International Criminal Court, they stated Thursday.
Nizar Banat, a widely known Palestinian critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA) with a big social media following, died in Palestinian police custody in Hebron in June 2021. His demise sparked mass protests and indignant condemnation of the Palestinian Authority from main figures within the West Bank and past.
In an announcement from The Hague, Banat’s brother Ghassan Khalil Moh’d Banat stated the household felt the necessity to go to the ICC for “an unpoliticized investigation and prosecution of criminals.”
“When my brother was assassinated, he was becoming a prominent opponent to (Palestinian Authority President) Mahmoud Abbas, just by saying the truth about this corrupt and authoritarian regime. The way they killed him and are trying to get away with it reflects the level of impunity and of moral corruption that plague this regime,” Banat stated.
The Palestinian Authority charged 14 officers after Banat’s demise. Banat’s household stated the officers have been “low ranking” and the trial “farcical,” and that no senior officer was questioned.
Amnesty International stated it was a violation of human rights requirements to carry the investigation and trial earlier than a army somewhat than a civilian court docket. On the one-year anniversary of Banat’s demise, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, known as the army justice course of a “smokescreen to protect those higher up.”
The household’s lawyer Hakan Camuz stated Thursday the case is the primary time a Palestinian is bringing the Palestinian Authority to the ICC.
“The PA has been a State party to the ICC since 2015. Yet, it has always been devised as a protection against the crimes of Israel against Palestinians. Sadly, under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority has become another oppressor for the Palestinian people, just as much as Israel,” Camuz stated in an announcement. “Nizar Banat was killed because he shed the light on this regime’s corruption and violence. We are seeking justice for him, for his family but also for the whole people of Palestine.”
Act Daily News has requested the Palestinian Authority Presidency for touch upon the case. Act Daily News has additionally requested the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to verify it has acquired the case file.