Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

PA: HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP CONDEMNS PALESTINIAN COURT DEATH SENTENCE

April 30, 2009: the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned a Palestinian military court's order sentencing a West Bank resident to death for treason and selling property to Israelis.
In a statement, the centre urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to authorize the death sentence, which it described as "unconstitutional," and said it "violates international human rights conventions."
A three-judge panel in a Hebron military court sentenced earlier this week Anwar Breghit, a 59-year-old Palestinian from the village of Beit Ummar, north of the southern West Bank city, to death after it found him guilty of treason and of selling property to Israelis.
The PCHR said PLO laws are unconstitutional in PA areas since they were not ratified by the Palestinian Legislative Council, the highest legislative authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
It also said that the centre has always called for not using PLO laws because they "contradict with international standards for a fair trial particularly because they do not allow for an appeal."
The Hebron court said its decision was final and that the convicted person could not appeal his sentence.
It said the order was sent to President Abbas to sign it before it could carried out.
The PCHR said that "while it takes very seriously the use of these laws in PA areas," it calls on the PA to stop using these laws and also calls on Abbas not to approve "this cruel and inhuman" decision. (Sources: Earth Times, BBC, 30/04/2009)