GAZA CITY: Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip
executed three Palestinian men for murder on Tuesday, the attorney general
said, drawing condemnation from the United Nations.
The
three, who were not named and whose cases were unrelated, were put to death by
firing squad behind closed doors, security sources said.
The
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said, however, that two of them were
hanged and the third was shot.
“To
achieve public deterrence and curb crime, the competent authorities carried out
at dawn on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 execution rulings against three of those
convicted of shocking murders,” a statement from the attorney general said.
Rupert
Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned
the executions which he said occurred “despite serious and widespread concerns
that international fair trial standards were not respected”.
The
European Union, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International all also
condemned the killings.
