women protesters, broke equipment and body. Fourteen low-rank officers of Preventive confiscated phones of eight journalists. Security forces in Hebron were put on trial in On 21 and 22 September, police entered September. Azhar university campus in Gaza City and On 22 May, Tarek Khudairi, a political critic, beat 15 students at an induction event, was arrested at an event in Ramallah. He told according to the Independent Commission Amnesty International that he was slapped on for Human Rights (ICHR), the Palestinian the face, shoved against a wall during national human rights institution. The ICHR interrogation, kept in stress positions and recorded 129 complaints of arbitrary denied medical care for two days. detention in the West Bank and 80 in Gaza, RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL many related to freedom of expression and association. Presidential decrees on 11 January HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS appointing members of the Transitional High Judicial Council, which replaced the High A presidential decree on 2 March required Judicial Council and dissolved the High Court NGOs to submit their annual plan to the in in 2019, further undermined the government for approval. independence of the judiciary. Around 12 people were arrested ahead of a On 21 October, the Hamas-run Authority for planned peaceful protest on 5 July. Among Military Justice in Gaza announced the them was Ubai Aboudi, who worked for sentencing of 13 men convicted of drug Bisan, a Palestinian NGO working for trafficking. The defendants, all civilians, were economic and social rights. He was charged tried in military courts without access to legal with “participating in an illegal gathering”. On advice, and some said they were tortured to 30 November, the Magistrates Court in extract “confessions”, according to the Ramallah acquitted him and seven other Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. One activists of all charges for lack of evidence. defendant was sentenced to death, 10 were On 4 July, Mohannad Karajah, director of sentenced to between 10 and 18 years of Lawyers for Justice, a Palestinian human hard labour, and two were acquitted. rights group, was arrested while working. The ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS Prosecutor-General questioned him on 10 November on charges of “slandering the Between 10 and 21 May, Palestinian armed Palestinian Authority”, “participating in an groups in the Gaza Strip fired thousands of illegal gathering” and “inciting sectarian rockets towards Israel, most of which were strife”. Mohannad Karajah said that he was intercepted by Israel’s “Iron Dome” told that the General Intelligence Service’s technology. The firing of indiscriminate complaint against him and Lawyers for rockets is a war crime. Thirteen people in Justice related to their media campaign Israel died as a result of rocket attacks, against the illegal detention of political including Khalil Awad and his 16-year-old activists. daughter Nadine on 12 May when a rocket TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT hit their home’s yard in Dahmash near Lod town in central Israel. The rockets also Widespread use of torture by Palestinian caused at least 20 deaths and 80 injuries in authorities continued. The ICHR received the Gaza Strip, according to Al Mezan, a 104 complaints of torture and other ill- Palestinian human rights organization. Bara treatment against authorities in the West al-Gharabli, aged six, and Mustafa Bank and 104 against authorities in Gaza. On Mohammad Al-Aabed , aged 14, were killed 6 September, prosecutors completed an on 10 May in Jabalya city in northern Gaza investigation into the torture and death in Strip, according to Defense for Children custody of Nizar Banat. An autopsy found International-Palestine. fractures, bruises and abrasions all over his Amnesty International Report 2021/22 291