Top Palestinian Accuses PLO Forces in Torture Death

Palestinian Justice Minister Freih abu Medeen said Monday a Palestinian held by PLO security forces in the West Bank city of Nablus was tortured to death during interrogation.

The prosecutor-general and Justice Ministry were investigating the death of Yousef Ismail Baba, 32, in the Palestinian-ruled enclave, Abu Medeen said in the first official confirmation of alleged torture.

He called the case “a flagrant violation of the law” because Baba was arrested without an order from the police or prosecutor-general.

Human rights groups have accused Palestinian security forces of systematically torturing prisoners and accused the Palestinian Authority of not doing enough to halt the abuse.

The Jerusalem-based Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment said Saturday that Palestine Liberation Organization military intelligence arrested Baba on Jan. 3 on suspicion of making an improper property sale.

Abu Medeen said as a result of torture, Baba was hospitalized in Nablus on Jan. 24 but was returned to jail the next day before finishing treatment. “As a result of further torture, his health condition worsened and he died,” he said.

Abu Medeen said Baba’s medical file had disappeared from the hospital, “so we arrested some hospital employees for interrogation.”

According to the Washington-based Solidarity International for Human Rights group, 12 Palestinians have been tortured to death while under interrogation since the Palestinian Authority began taking control of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in 1994.

PLO officials said military intelligence was responsible for most of the cases of human rights abuses and torture.