Leading Palestinian intellectuals and human rights activists have called for an end to the controversial security courts in the Palestinian Authority, reported Middle East News Line agency (MENL).
The call was made as Palestinian President Yasser Arafat approved Friday a death sentence handed down by a security court against a 19-year-old man from Gaza City, said the agency. The sentence was issued after a one-hour trial.
So far, Palestinian courts have sentenced 31 people to death since 1994. Security and military courts have handed down 27 such sentences. Three people have been executed, the agency added.
"The State Security Court does not provide internationally recognized standards of fair trial, such as the right to choose a lawyer and the right to appeal a sentence," LAW, the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, said in a statement on Saturday.
"The fact that the State Security Court does not provide the right of appeal is especially serious in relation with the issuing of a death sentence."
The group joined Palestinian intellectuals in calling for the abolition of the security court and death sentences in the PA territories, added MENL - Albawaba.com
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