Palestinian Authority covering up critic’s death, family says | Occupied West Bank News

Relatives of Nizar Banat, who died in PA custody, say they did not receive the official cause of death document.

The family of a political activist who died last month in custody of Palestinian security forces has accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of trying to cover up his death.

Relatives of Nizar Banat, 43, said Saturday they still had not received a document with an official cause of death, saying the PA had made efforts to settle the matter out of court.

“The behavior of the Palestinian Authority up to this point is criminal and hides a crime,” Nazir’s brother Ghassan Banat told reporters.

Nizar Banat was an outspoken critic of the PA for calling on Western nations to stop aid to the PA due to human rights abuses and increasing authoritarianism.

In a series of posts and live videos on Facebook, Banat criticized the agency’s close security coordination with Israel and its corruption, which many Palestinians saw as treason. He also hit President Mahmoud Abbas in April for canceling the first Palestinian elections in 15 years. Banat was a candidate on an opposition list.

His family said that on June 24th, security forces stormed Banat’s bedroom while he was sleeping and beat him and bleeding his head before they took him out of the house. He died shortly afterwards while in detention.

His death sparked protests that lasted for weeks. At least six activists were arrested by security forces on July 5 while protesting outside PA headquarters. Several witnesses said the police used pepper spray and beat the protesters with batons.

About 150 people demonstrated in Ramallah on Saturday evening, holding up Banat posters and chanting anti-Abbas slogans. The protest was peaceful and there were no reports of violence or arrests.

The PA, seen as an important partner to the United States and other Western countries, has set up a committee of inquiry into Banat’s death. The head of the inquiry committee said Banat had been subjected to physical violence and that his death was “unnatural”.

His brother said the family had heard little from the government weeks later.

The PA did not respond to requests for comment.

“So far we have not received a death certificate. How can you have a citizen who dies without a death certificate being issued? ”Said Ghassan Banat.

Accompanied by two family lawyers, the brother rejected attempts by the agency to send tribal elders into the family in the hopes of closing the case and preventing it from reaching the courts.

“This file is not dissolved or closed through elders or tribal ways,” he said. “Nizar’s file is a political assassination and will remain open until justice is achieved, even if it takes 1,000 years.”

The Banat family said they faced daily threats but said they were unaffected and would continue to “claim our right” to claim responsibility for Nizar’s death.

The PA is widely viewed as corrupt and authoritarian. A recent poll last month showed that support for Abbas, who came to power in 2005 for a supposedly four-year term, had waned.

Abbas faces mounting pressure after calling off the elections when it appeared that his Fatah party would suffer a crushing defeat by rival Hamas group.

Last month, Palestinian security forces arrested prominent activist and critic Issa Amro after criticizing recent Facebook arrests.