Deceased Palestinian activist’s family accuses Palestinian Authority of cover up

The family of a political activist who died in the custody of Palestinian security forces last year has accused the Preventive Security Apparatus of trying to cover up his assassination.

The family said, in a statement on Tuesday evening, that the Preventive Security Apparatus’s actions prove the extent of their criminal policies which have reached the level of committing organised crime, employing false witnesses and corrupt lawyers.

The statement came after a court hearing held on 24 March, where a lawyer representing the Preventive Security Apparatus invited forensic pathologist, Saber Al-Aloul, who claimed in his testimony that Nizar had died of heart disease.

However, the Banat family explained, in the statement, that the official forensic report which was issued after full examination of the body concluded that the cause of death was the multiple blows to the body.

“The evidence provided by the Military Prosecution is the official forensic report, and it can only be refuted by evidence higher than or equivalent to it, and this is what can never be achieved,” the statement said, pointing out that the family has obtained Nizar’s medical record from Al-Ahly Hospital and Alia Hospital, which stated that Nizar did not suffer from any disease, and that the reports had been published previously, and will be republished to the local community and the media.