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Harrowing details of the murder of Nizar Banat published

Musawa published what was stated in the indictment of the court

Jerusalem24 – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal profession, Musawah, published Monday evening, via its official Facebook page the facts of the crime that killed activist Nizar Banat. The details were according to what was stated in the indictment read out Yesterday against the defendants in the first session of the trial.

According to what was published by Musawa, the investigation revealed that on 24/6/2021 and around three in the morning a force from the Preventive Security Service in Hebron Governorate consisting of the fourteen accused moved to arrest the victim, Nizar Khalil Muhammad Banat. This was based on an operations order issued on 06/23/2021 and a summons issued by the Civil Public Prosecution and addressed to the Hebron Police Director and issued on 4/5/2021 by the Head of the Civil Public Prosecution/Dora. The location of the victim was determined in the southern region in Jabal Jawhar Sarsouriyeh neighborhood in a rented house, where the forces moved in with four vehicles, one of them a Hyundai Accent in governmental silver, the second a Peugeot 306 in a silver color, the third of a Skoda Fabia in white and the fourth of a Polo in civilian colors. They arrived at the house where the victim was, as soon as they reached the house a number of them opened the window shutters with an iron crowbar and entered without identifying themselves; and opened the door for the rest of the force.

Two suspects from the force then went to the witnesses who were sleeping next to the victim and sprayed them with pepper spray and put pistols to their heads and told them not to move or get up from the mattress. After confirming the identity of the victim. They hit him on the head more than once with the iron crowbar and then beat him on the rest of his body, and then the rest of the suspects who entered the house jointly beat the victim fiercely with crowbars, sticks, pistol butts, hands and feet. They then dragged him off the mattress in which he slept on the ground, stripping off his upper clothes (blouse and flannel) and assaulted him while he was on his back. They then flipped him onto his stomach and put iron handcuffs on his hands from behind while continuing to beat him and then sprayed him with pepper spray directly while he was handcuffed. Then one of the defendants, who was wearing a vest with the logo of the Preventive Security, said to them, “to continue assaulting him.” They continued the assault, and then they lifted him and hit his head with a building pole inside the house. After which, they then took the victim out of the house, and he fell at the door, so they pulled him out of the house. He took his feet outside and took him towards the vehicles, then about five defendants entered the house again and searched it and confiscated a laptop, camera stand and a phone that belonged to the victim who were present in the apartment. They then took him to the civilian polo vehicle, and continued to assault him while he was getting into the vehicle. One of the accused hit the victim with his hand and foot, and they continued to assault him.

While the vehicle was moving, one of the accused, who was holding a pistol in his hand, returned to the polo vehicle in which the victim was located and assaulted him with the butt of the pistol by inserting his hand into the vehicle’s rear window and hitting him with the butt of the pistol several times. The force left the residence at approximately 3:23 in the morning and headed to the Preventive Security Directorate in Hebron. The civilian-colored polo vehicle arrived at the Preventive Security Directorate in Hebron at about 3:32 a.m. There they brought the victim inside the fence of the directorate and stopped in front of the directorate’s main building. They opened the doors of the vehicle and did not remove the victim from the vehicle they had brought him in. After a while they removed him from the vehicle and carried him by his hands and feet and placed him at the entrance of the Preventive Security Directorate. One of the suspects called another  who was near the entrance to the Directorate and informed him of the condition of the victim. They called the Operations Director and informed him of the victim’s condition, so he asked them immediately to take the victim to the hospital, but the accused brought the victim, carried by his hands and feet into the directorate, and placed him in the reception hall on the first floor. The victim remained for five minutes in the hall, and then they transferred him at about 3:46 in the morning to Hebron Governmental Hospital, where they arrived at the hospital around 3:50 in the morning and took him to the emergency department. There were no vital signs of life on the victim. An attempt was made to try  and revive him for more than forty minutes by doctors in vain, the doctors then announced his death after that.

After performing the autopsy, it was found that the cause of death was traumatic shock, resulting from multiple injuries, which caused acute cardiac and respiratory failure. According to the testimonies of the witnesses and suspects, the accused have also violated the sustainable instructions of the leadership of the Preventive Security Service; which are based on the code of rules for the use of force and firearms for members of the Palestinian security forces issued by the Minister of Interior in 2011. They had also violated the instructions of the Director of Operations and the Director of Preventive Security in Hebron Governorate to immediately transfer the victim to the hospital.

Mohammad Hamayel

Ramallah based journalist, Mohammad graduated from Al-Quds University with a B.A. in Media and Television. He has covered the 2015 Jerusalem Intifada as well as the Great March of Return for international media outlets. currently an editor/presenter at Jerusalem24. A UN alumni and a follower of global events and politics, especially American affairs.

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