Hamas to Persist With Public Executions Despite Objections

The Hamas government is still planning to carry out public executions despite appeals by human rights groups to reverse the decision.

Ismail Jaber, the attorney general in Gaza, confirmed on Aug. 11 that the public prosecution is waiting for the approval of the Council of Ministers in Gaza to implement the death penalty for a "criminal," after all legal proceedings against him were exhausted.

In a press statement, Jaber said, "The death sentence will be carried out as we have said after the [Eid al-Fitr] holiday," adding that the sentence would likely be carried out by the end of August. He did not specify the public place where the execution will take place.

In an earlier statement on Aug. 1, Jaber said, "The death sentence will be carried out against a number of criminals immediately after Eid al-Fitr," noting that the executions would be "public, in retaliation for those who had died."

He added, “Public executions will not take place in front of all citizens in public squares, but rather in the presence of the families of the victims, a number of mayors and religious figures.”

Jaber indicated that the objective behind these public executions was to deter others from committing similar offenses.

Gaza’s Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh confirmed on Aug. 2 that after Eid al-Fitr his government will carry out death sentences against a number of persons accused in criminal cases, stressing that the law will take its course and no perpetrator will escape punishment.

As part of his response to Amnesty International's statement, the attorney general in Gaza explained to Al-Monitor that the judiciary system and the public prosecution has taken a decision to execute some criminals to serve as a deterrence for further crimes.

Source: Al-Monitor, August 13, 2013