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Fatah member's relatives say he was executed in PA jail
Tensions high in Ramallah ahead of funeral of man charged with shooting former Palestinian information minister. PA says he died following deterioration in his medical condition, family claims he was tortured by intelligence service
Ali Waked
Tensions were high in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday ahead of the funeral of Shadi Shami, a Fatah member in his 30s who died two days ago at a Jericho prison belonging to the Palestinian intelligence service.
Shami was arrested in 2002 and was charged with shooting former Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr, who now serves as the Palestinian Liberation Organization's ambassador to Egypt
and is considered one of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' close advisers.
Shortly after the shooting incident, which left Amr with a serious injury to his leg, Shami was arrested by Israel.
Two days after his release from an Israeli jail, he was arrested by the Palestinian intelligence service and kept in a Jericho prison.
Two days ago, the intelligence service announced that Shami had died following a deterioration in his medical condition, but his family members claimed that he was tortured by intelligence officials and was essentially executed.
In an unusual move, Shami's family demanded that his body undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Shami's funeral was expected to take place in Ramallah on Wednesday afternoon amid fears of clashes between his family members and Palestinian security forces.
Amr was shot at the peak of tensions between Palestinian Authority officials and former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat following the Israeli siege on the PA headquarters, known as the Muqataa compound.
The officials claimed at the time that Arafat must change his attitude towards the intifada, in order to allow Israel to lift the siege, bring about an end to the intifada and speed up the peace process. Arafat's men accused the group of officials of attempting to oust him.
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