Islamic Jihad gunmen
Photo: Reuters
Rights group: Islamic Jihad torturing collaborators
Human rights group urges Hamas investigation of reported torture executed by Islamic Jihad on operatives suspected of collaborating with Israel. Jihad spokesman: Fight against Israeli occupation requires fighting collaborators
Human Rights Watch has urged the Hamas government
in the Gaza Strip to investigate the abduction and alleged torture of three Palestinians by Islamic Jihad,
which accused them of spying for Israel.
A ministry spokesman, Ehab al-Ghsain, said the detainees bore signs of torture. Islamic Jihad denied having abused them. The New York-based rights group issued a statement on Friday calling on Hamas to exercise sole responsibility for law enforcement.
The three were seized by the terror organization on May 20, and accused of helping Israeli forces kill several of Jihad's operatives, including one of its leaders. After making taped confessions, the men were handed over to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry for prosecution.
Islamic Jihad on Negev
Four Qassams fired at Israel Friday afternoon; two land near Gaza's Erez crossing. Two more rockets fired from Gaza Friday night
"An armed group like al-Quds Brigades (Islamic Jihad's military wing) has no legal right to arrest, detain or interrogate suspects," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division. "The Hamas authorities in Gaza, who control the governing institutions there, have a duty to prosecute those responsible for these abductions and apparent use of torture."
Hamas should charge the three suspected spies "with a recognizable criminal offence and try them in accordance with international standards" or free them, Human Rights Watch added.
Ghsain said Hamas had rebuked Islamic Jihad over the abductions, but no legal action against the group was planned. "There were marks of torture (on the suspects) and we expressed our displeasure to Islamic Jihad and told them what happened must not be repeated," he said. "We have warned all parties against carrying out such act in isolation from the official agencies."
'We acted legally'
Islamic Jihad, on its end, defended its actions. "While we fight the Israeli occupation we must fight collaborators who endanger the lives of leaders and society in general," said Daoud Shehab, the group's spokesman.
"We have acted legally and fairly," he said. "The three collaborators were not tortured by any means and they gave full confessions of their own free will."
Several suspected spies for Israel have received death sentences in Palestinian courts and dozens of others have been executed by gunmen in Gaza and the West Bank. The phenomenon has been condemned internationally.
Ghsain said the three detainees were being interrogated by Hamas authorities and could be prosecuted if convicted. Dozens of suspected spies are in Gazan prisons awaiting trial, he said.
