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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| PA says 14 officers to be charged for beating Abbas critic Nizar Banat to death |
| 2021-09-06 |
Green on green grows wider. [IsraelTimes] Men to be accused of aggravated assault in case that has rocked the West Bank; no senior officers or politicians have so far been charged in Banat’s death.Fourteen members of the Paleostinian Authority security forces will be charged for allegedly beating opposition figure Nizar Banat ...the Israel-hating, anti-corruption crusading, amateur West Bank politician (he was by profession a carpenter and house painter) who for years was regularly arrested by PA authorities until the day they finally beat him to death... to death in late June, a spokesperson for the forces said on Sunday."The investigations have concluded, and the military prosecutors... decided to charge all the officers and forces who participated in apprehending Nizar Banat," PA security services spokesperson Talal Dweikat told official PA television. The 14 alleged perpetrators will be charged with fatally beating Banat, under PA military law, said Dweikat. Banat, a social media activist well-known for his caustic videos condemning the PA leadership, died after being arrested by PA officers in late June. His death sparked rare major protests in the West Bank calling for the downfall of the PA government. In the aftermath of Banat’s death, the PA arrested 14 officers alleged to have taken part in his beating. All hailed from the Hebron division of the powerful Preventative Security apparatus, Dweikat said on Monday. But Banat’s family has already pledged not to accept the results of the PA’s investigation into his death. The family formally withdrew its support from an earlier commission of inquiry that led to the arrests of the 14 suspects in July. No senior officers or politicians have been charged in Banat’s death. Some Paleostinian media has fingered Hebron deputy Preventative Security chief Maher Abu Halawa as ultimately responsible for ordering Banat’s death. "The investigations proved that [Abu Halawa] had nothing to do with this incident," Dweikat argued. Related: Banat: 2021-08-23 Palestinian Authority arrests 24 protesters in West Bank after PA critic’s death Banat: 2021-07-28 EU ‘appalled’ by alleged killing of 2 Gazans by Hamas security forces Banat: 2021-07-03 Demonstrations continued today in Hebron against the Palestinian Authority's killing of political activist Nizar Banat |
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