The family of Nizar Banat, the human rights activist who was brutally murdered in Hebron by security personnel of the PA because of his criticism of the corruption in the PA and its leader, announced that it has begun the practical steps towards an investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in order to bring about the punishment of those responsible for the murder.
The family’s lawyer, Advocate Hakan Kamoz, appealed to Karim Khan, the Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, demanding to investigate the circumstances of Nizar Banat’s murder and prosecute all those responsible for his death.
Nizar Banat was murdered on June 24, 2021, the indictment submitted to the PA’s military law in Ramallah describes the brutal murder.
According to the indictment, on June 24 at three o’clock in the morning, a force of the Palestinian security forces, consisting of 14 armed security personnel, arrived to detain Nizar Banat for questioning. He was located at his relative’s house in the Jebel Johar area of Hebron.
Some security personnel broke the windows of the house with iron bars and then opened the door for the rest of the force.
Two of the defendants sprayed pepper spray on Nizar Banat’s relatives who were sleeping next to him and threatened them with guns that were attached to their heads. After Nizar Banat was identified, he was hit by one of the defendants on the head with an iron bar, then other defendants joined him and beat Nizar Banat with clubs and the butts of their guns. They dragged him from the bed to the floor, stripped his upper body and handcuffed him with his hands tied behind his back, then sprayed him with tear gas while his hands were handcuffed and dragged him to one of the vehicles waiting outside.
Later, 5 of the defendants returned to the house and confiscated Nizar Banat’s computer, camera, and cell phone. He was taken to the Security Directorate in Hebron and after 20 minutes he was taken to the hospital in Hebron where he was pronounced dead.
The pathological analysis determined that the cause of death was the accumulation of injuries from the beatings he received.
The defendants continued to beat Nizar Banat despite being shackled and despite the fact that he did not resist the arrest, according to the order of the commander of the force, and refused to provide him with medical treatment.
The unusual move of the Banat family against the Palestinian Authority indicates the anger and frustration with the conduct of the Palestinian Authority, which has been trying for a year and a half To delay the trial, the 14 defendants accused in the murder were released from custody and the Palestinian Authority uses deliberate procrastination and occasionally postpones the hearings in the trial to try and weaken the Banat family.
In a statement issued by the Banat family, they directly accused the PA chairman of being responsible for their son’s death, the investigation and its results by virtue of his being the direct responsible for the Palestinian security forces.
The family announced their determination “to go to the end and bring justice to the gang that murdered Nizar Banat”.
The trial opened following heavy pressure exerted on the Palestinian Authority by the Biden administration, the European Union, human rights organizations and the Palestinian street, which went on a series of demonstrations, mainly in Ramallah and Hebron, against the dictatorial regime of Mahmoud Abbas.
Until the start of the trial, the Palestinian Authority tried to reach a compensation settlement with the family Banat in exchange for canceling the trial, it offered them a large sum of money and also jobs in the PA, but all its offers were rejected outright.
Even after the killing of Nizar Banat, the PA continued to use force and its security forces violently suppressed the demonstrations that called for the resignation of its chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the punishment of the murderers and the establishment of an international commission of inquiry in the case.
According to Palestinian law, the defendants face a prison sentence ranging from 7 years to life imprisonment, however this is not going to happen, the Palestinian Authority is determined to protect them, therefore the Banat family appealed to the Criminal Court in The Hague to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority by opening an investigation into the case.
The trial in Ramallah began because of international pressure, but the international pressure on the PA and its leader decreased because of the international fear of the PA’s collapse and the consequences of this on regional stability, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is taking advantage of this to delay the trial.
In the end, the security personnel who killed Nizar Banat acted according to the instructions of senior officials in the PA, the dictatorship of the PA rule is not going to disappear,
the murder of Nizar Banat was intended to send a clear message to all the political opponents of the PA chairman.
Mahmoud Abbas will continue to forcefully suppress his critics and opponents just like the other dictatorial rulers in the Arab world, there is no difference between them.
