- Rights activist dies in Palestinian Authority custody Relatives of Palestinian human rights activist Nizar Banat gather at the family home to mourn his death in Palestinian Authority custody.
2/4Rights activist dies in Palestinian Authority custodyA protester confronts Palestinian security forces during a demonstration calling for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to quit after Nizar Banat, a critic of the Palestinian Authority, died following his arrest in the occupied West Bank.
3/4Rights activist dies in Palestinian Authority custodyProtesters run for cover from tear gas fired by Palestinian security forces during a demonstration calling for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to quit
4/4Rights activist dies in Palestinian Authority custodyHundreds of protestors rallied in Ramallah, seat of the PA in the West Bank, as calls mounted demanded a probe into Banat’s death
A human rights activist and critic of the Palestinian Authority died Thursday after security forces stormed his house and violently arrested him, his family said, triggering angry protests in the occupied West Bank.
Nizar Banat’s family said he had been hit with an object used to break the window, in an incident that sparked outrage from fellow activists and calls for an investigation, including from the United States, United Nations and European Union.
Banat, 43, from the flashpoint city of Hebron, was arrested early Thursday by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, Hebron governor Jibrin al-Bakri said.
“Following… a summons from the public prosecution to arrest citizen Nizar Khalil Muhammad Banat, a force from the security services arrested him,” Bakri said in a statement carried by the official WAFA news agency.
He did not cite a reason for Banat’s arrest.
Banat’s cousin, Hussein Banat, told AFP around 25 armed men had broken into the activist’s house at 3:30 am (0030 GMT) while he was sleeping, and used pepper spray to subdue him.
“A large force entered and aggressively took off all of his clothes, then beat him for eight minutes straight,” he said, with Banat then dragged to a vehicle and driven away.
The governor said that during Banat’s arrest, “his health deteriorated”, and he was taken to hospital, where “after he was examined by doctors, he was pronounced dead”.
Samir Abu Zarzour, the doctor who carried out the autopsy, told reporters that injuries on Banat’s body indicated he had been beaten on the head, chest, neck, legs and hands.
Less than an hour elapsed between his arrest and his death, Abu Zarzour said.
– ‘Enough is enough’ –
Banat was known for his videos posted on Facebook, in which he denounced alleged corruption in the PA.
He had registered as a candidate in Palestinian parliamentary elections, which had been set for May until president Mahmud Abbas postponed them indefinitely.
