The Centre considers the death penalty a violation of the right to life and confirms that the death penalty has never been proven to deter crime. The Death Penalty By Ammar Aduweik Hussein Hashem Abu Nahel's recent death sentence brings the number of such sentences issued since the arrival of the PNA to 27, of which 24 were issued by the Military and State Security courts and 3 by the Gaza District Court. It should be noted that 25 of these sentences were issued in Gaza and only 2 in the West Bank. Three sentences have been endorsed by the President and carried out only a few hours after the endorsement. Most of the other sentences have since been reduced to life sentences.
Death is the harshest sentence possible.
If any crime is deemed so evil as to be punishable by death, there should be strict limitations imposed and the maximum safeguards for a fair trial. It is also necessary for death sentences to be carried out long enough after the trial to give the defendant the opportunity to appeal and make sure that there is no new evidence that could acquit him or her. A common feature of the Palestinian Military and State Security courts is that they fail to guarantee the minimum safeguards for fair trial. Most such trials have lasted only a few hours, and usually the accused is not given the chance to select their own defence lawyers, but rather the court tends to second a military person to take this role. In all cases, neither the lawyer nor the defendant are given enough time to gather evidence for the defence.