On 24 June 2021, France24 reported that a Palestinian human rights activist Nizar Banat, 43, a PA critic from the city of Hebron, was arrested in a dawn raid Thursday by Palestinian security forces, Hebron governor Jibrin al-Bakri said. He died Thursday shortly after being arrested. His family reported that he was beaten to death.
“Following… a summons from the public prosecution to arrest citizen Nizar Khalil Muhammad Banat, a force from the security services arrested him at dawn,” Bakri said in a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency.
No reason was given for his arrest.
Banat’s family accused security forces of “hitting him on the head with wooden sticks and bits of iron” and “deliberately murdering” him, they told the Palestinian news site Quds.
The governor only said that during Banat’s arrest, “his health deteriorated”.
Banat was known for his videos posted on Facebook, in which he denounced alleged corruption in the PA. He had registered as a candidate in the Palestinian parliamentary election which had been due to be held in May before president Mahmud Abbas postponed it indefinitely.
Bakri gave no indication of the cause of death, but both he and prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said an investigation had been launched.
The European Union delegation to the Palestinians said it was “shocked and saddened” by Banat’s death, adding that a “full, independent and transparent investigation should be conducted immediately”. The EU had voiced concern last November after Banat spent four days in custody in Jericho, and again expressed concern in May after Palestinian security forces raided Banat’s home.
On Tuesday, another Hebron-based Palestinian human rights activist, Issa Amro, said he was briefly detained after posting criticism of political detentions on Facebook.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210624-activist-dies-in-palestinian-authority-custody-governor
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
