csua.org/u/b3m -> www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1108583510924
In the first decision of its kind since he succeeded Yasser Arafat, Pales tinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has ratified death sentences aga inst three Palestinians found guilty of "collaboration" with Israel. It is not clear when the three men, whose identities were not revealed, w ill be executed by firing squad. However, senior PA officials told The Jerusalem Post that the three were Gaza Strip residents who had been convicted of "high treason" for tippin g off Israeli security forces about the whereabouts of wanted gunmen. Sakher Bsaisso, a senior Fatah official who also serves as PA governor of the northern Gaza Strip, confirmed on Wednesday that Abbas had authoriz ed death sentences against three alleged "collaborators." Bsaisso said the three had been convicted of assisting Israel in the assa ssination of a number of Palestinian activists in the Gaza Strip over th e past four years, but refused to elaborate. He said Abbas also approved death sentences passed against scores of Pale stinians found guilty of criminally motivated murders. Bsaisso said Abbas's decision to carry out the death sentences came after PA mufti Sheikh Ikrimah Sabri authorized the executions as required by law. At least 51 Palestinians are on death row, including several suspected "c ollaborators." Under pressure to crack down on an upsurge in crime and a narchy in PA-controlled areas, Abbas earlier this month instructed the m ufti to quickly review the cases of the convicts so that the executions may be carried out as soon as possible. Most of the death sentences were issued by the controversial "state secur ity" courts in the Gaza Strip, which were dismantled two years ago after drawing sharp criticism from Palestinian human rights organizations and reformists. Since then, the defendants have been put on trial before a special "court of criminal assize," which has also been issuing death sentences. Bsaisso disclosed that Abbas had ordered the security forces to rearrest several convicted criminals who were released from prison for unknown re asons. According to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Grou p, 59 Palestinians have been sentenced to death by various PA courts sin ce 1995. The first executions took place in August 1998, when two convic ted murderers were brought before a firing squad in Gaza City. Since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000, another nine Pales tinians have been sentenced to death for "collaborating" with Israel, in cluding a human rights activist from Rafah. Many others have received se ntences ranging from three to 20 years in prison. According to Amnesty International, some of the defendants were sentenced to death by firing squad after an unfair trial. "The trials, before the State Security Court in Gaza, took place in a sin gle sitting in the evening, during which they did have some access to la wyers. Amnesty International has previously condemned trials by the Stat e Security Court as being grossly unfair. Trials are often summary, taki ng place before military judges, and there is no right of appeal," the g roup said in a statement. "People convicted of 'collaboration' with Israel face extremely harsh tre atment. Amnesty International delegat es were told that the Palestinian Authority had promised the European Un ion not to carry out any further executions. However, according to repor ts, at least 28 alleged collaborators have been killed by armed Palestin ians in 2002."
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