PRISONER DIES IN CUSTODY OF PALESTINIAN SECURITY FORCE
13TH PRISONER DEATH IN PA CUSTODY
1 July 1997
Nasser Abed Radwan, 28 years old and a father of three, was announced clinically brain-dead on 24 June after one day in PA custody, and died on 30 June from internal hemorrhage in the skull. Nasser Abed Radwan was arrested from his home on 23 June by two members of Force 17 (the Presidential security service). His family were not notified of the reason for his arrest, nor where he was being detained. By the morning of 24 June, he had been transferred to Shifa hospital in Gaza by members of the Force 17, with the identification “prisoner #10”. He suffered from severe internal bleeding in his head, and was pronounced clinically brain-dead at this time. He was pronounced dead a week later. The Force 17 officers said that Mr. Radwan fell in his cell.
Autopsy reports show paralysis in left side of body, in the left arm and leg. An unknown substance came from his mouth. His left arm and leg were also fractured and showed signs of having been bound by wire. His head and beard had been shaved.
The death of Mr. Radwan brings to 13 the number of Palestinians killed in PA custody. After the torture death of Yussuf al Baba in February, the PA promised to take “an iron hand” against those who torture in its prisons. In fact, Mr. Radwan was arrested without due process and without a warrant, and tortured to death in the space of one day.
LAW demands that the security forces be held accountable for their actions, control be imposed on the different branches of the security forces, and torture immediately eliminated as a tool for interrogation. LAW calls for the PA to publish the results of its inquiry, and for those responsible to be brought to justice. Please urgently send your faxes to: President Yasser Arafat (972) (7) 822365/6, Justice Minister Freih Abu Medein (972) (7) 822236 and Deputy Attorney General Mazen Sisalem (972) (7) 824503, and/or email to: Palestine National Authority
LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.