RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 13 (UPI) -- A Palestinian human rights group Monday slammed the execution of four convicts in Gaza, Sunday, maintaining they may not have had a fair trial.
The Ramallah-based organization, al-Haq, appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to commute other convicts' death sentences.
The four were executed at 4 a.m. "without prior notice," al-Haq said. Three were hanged and one was shot.
Dozens of Palestinians await execution, the organization noted.
Many, "Particularly those who were sentenced by the State Security Court, may not have been granted a fair trial," it said.
"Those whose sentences were handed down through means of unfair trials must be given access to new trials, which adhere to the principles of fair trial under international law," it stressed.
The four were reportedly convicted of murder and their execution was part of a Palestinian Authority attempt to stamp down lawlessness.
Al-Haq argued that numerous studies show capital punishment does not deter crime. More than 40 countries have abolished it, it said.
