United Nations // The UN envoy for the Middle East expressed alarmed after Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip moved to hold public executions, and urged them to change course.
Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council on Wednesday that public executions are prohibited under international human rights law and that any such killings in the Gaza Strip would be carried out without the approval of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
“I urge Hamas not to carry out these executions and call on president Abbas to establish a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty,” Mr Mladenov told the council by video-conference.
The death penalty can be applied only to the most serious crimes following a judicial process that upholds fair trial standards, the envoy said.
“I have serious doubts as to whether capital trials in Gaza meet these standards,” he added.
Thirteen men, most convicted of murder connected to robberies, are currently awaiting execution, according to Hamas officials.
Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, does not recognise Mr Abbas’s legitimacy.
The authorities announced on Sunday that they are planning to carry out a series of public executions.* Agence France-Presse
