Hamas accused of serious abuses

According to a 43 page report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Palestinians are facing serious abuses at the hands of the Hamas criminal justice system. These include arbitrary arrests without warrents, torture of detainees, forced confessions and unfair trials. The report stated, for instance, that since it took control of the Gaza, three men have been executed at the hands of Hamas and that their convictions were, apparently, based on confessions obtained after torture. Deputy Middle East director at HRW, Joe Stork, was quoted as saying, “after five years of Hamas rule in Gaza, its criminal justice system reeks of injustice, routinely violates detainees’ rights and grants impunity to abusive security services.” As of yet, there has been no detailed response to the allegations from Hamas.