December 20, 2016

Statement issued by CWLRCP

CWLRCP demands the annulment of the death sentence against Ms. Nahla Abu Anza and calls for a fair trial.

CWLRCP strongly condemns the death sentence issued by the Khan Yunis Court of First Instance on October 5 against Ms. Nahla Abu Anza, 26 years old, a resident of the new Abasan town, east of Khan Yunis. She was convicted of premeditated murder of her husband, Riad Abu Anza, 36 years old. This case is considered the first of its kind in 20 years in the history of the Palestinian judiciary in which a woman is sentenced to death by hanging.

CWLRCP raises many questions regarding the issuance of the death sentence against Ms. Nahla less than ten months after the crime. Conversely, there are many murders committed against women under various pretexts that have remained in the courts for years, and no death sentences have been issued against the perpetrators. The perpetrator is given a lenient sentence, either under the pretext of defending honor, or under the claim of accidental death in a family quarrel, or the penalty is dropped in exchange for paying what is called (blood money) to the victim’s family, as happened at the beginning of this month (December). The Gaza Court of First Instance sentenced the defendant (A/Q) to five years imprisonment (only) for committing the crime of premeditated murder of citizen Suhair Abu al-Khair and the crime of unintentional killing of citizen Musab Azzam, inflicting severe harm, damaging property, possessing a weapon without a license and for an illegitimate occasion, threatening, defaming and brawling in a public place. This reduced sentence for all crimes was justified by the existence of a reconciliation and waiver document from the victims’ relatives.

Lawyers from CWLRCP observed a number of issues while following up on this case, which the prosecution and the court should take into consideration, namely: the speed in closing the case file despite the availability of details worthy of follow-up and accountability; also, the abandonment of (Nahla) by her family, to the point that they did not appoint a lawyer for her “for fear of the husband’s family’s revenge”, or being forced to “pay blood money” for reconciliation; also, the lack of interest on the part of the lawyer appointed by the court or official bodies in fulfilling her request to see her young child since the date of her imprisonment a year ago; and the lack of attention to what the defendant stated regarding the level of violence against her by the husband’s family and the circumstances that led her to commit the crime and the details of these circumstances, which indicate that the criminal intent to commit the crime is flawed, which contributes to reducing the penalty against her.

In the context of following up on this case, CWLRCP is surprised and denounces the Court of Appeal’s failure to respond to Ms. Abu Anza’s request to summon her lawyer who was appointed by the CWLRCP, and the court’s insistence on appointing a lawyer on its behalf. Our center calls on the Head of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Attorney General to give the accused the opportunity to conduct a fair trial, both in terms of litigation procedures and her right to appoint a defense lawyer of her choice. The Center also calls for giving sufficient time to appeal the death sentence issued, hoping that it will be annulled and replaced with a lighter penalty, taking into account all the circumstances of the crime.