RAMALLAH, West Bank — The family of a Hamas preacher yesterday held the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the death of their relative due to “severe torture.”
Mohammed Barghouthi said that his relative, 42-year-old Sheikh Majed Abdulaziz Barghouthi, died Friday after he was “subjected for seven days to severe physical torture by the General Intelligence Service in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Mohammed added that Majed, a preacher in the village of Kouber, northwest of Ramallah, was evacuated to hospital Friday afternoon after he lost consciousness due to torture.
“He was in a critical condition as a result of harsh beating, burns, and other forms of torture since he was arrested seven days ago,” said Mohammed, adding “signs of torture and burns were all over his body.”
The General Intelligence Service said in a press statement on Friday that Majed was evacuated to Khalid hospital in the city after he complained of chest and abdominal pain two days before his death.
Abbas ordered an investigation in the death following accusations by the rival Hamas movement. Majed’s body was transferred to the Abu Dis forensic institute for an autopsy to determine the exact causes of death.
Hamas held Abbas and his Prime Minister Salam Fayyad fully responsible for the death of Majed. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press conference on Friday that “this crime constitutes a serious precedent that reflects the extreme torture supporters of Hamas are being subjected to in Abbas’ prisons.”
Hamas called on the Palestinian factions and forces, and human rights and civil society organizations to denounce the “brutal crime and to demand the trial of those responsible for Majed’s death and the release of all prisoners from Abbas’ jails.”
Abbas’ security forces arrested hundreds of Hamas members and loyalists since last June when the movement violently seized control on Gaza Strip.
In another development, Israeli forces operating in the West Bank during the early hours of yesterday morning apprehended a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in the Nablus refugee camp of Ein Beit Ilma.
Palestinian security sources said that several army jeeps stormed the camp and detained Majdi Mabrouk, 30, who has been wanted by Israel for a long time. The sources added that three citizens, including Mabrouk’s sister, were wounded when they scuffled with the Israeli soldiers in a bid to hinder the detention.
Israeli security sources said that during his arrest, Mabrouk was in possession of an M-16 assault rifle with a telescopic lens, a hand grenade and 15 bullet cartridges.
