AMMAN — The family of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, who died
in custody while being interrogated by the
Palestinian Authority (PA) security
personnel, has demanded the Jordanian government to condemn his death, as the
man holds a Jordanian passport and was born and raised in the Kingdom.
اضافة اعلان
Banat, 43, died last Thursday after he was arrested by the
security forces of the PA. The death is believed to be a result of torture.
“Palestinian activist and parliamentary candidate Nizar Banat was
pronounced dead, hours after being arrested by Palestinian Security Forces
(PSF) at a house in Hebron. According to the victim’s family, PSF aggressively
beat and physically assaulted the victim during the arrest,” said Tor
Wennesland as he briefed UN Security Council on Friday.
Banat was known to be an outspoken activist criticizing the
Palestinian Authority policies and leadership.
In a conversation with
Jordan News, Amar Banat, Nizar’s cousin, he
demanded a clear position from the Jordanian government, which, he said, “should
fulfil its moral obligation and condemn the killing of Nizar who holds
Jordanian citizenship and grew up in the Kingdom.”
The victim’s cousin highlighted Nizar’s life in the city of Salt
in Jordan.
“Nizar received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jordan
University after finishing top three in the Kingdom’s high school standardized
test. He was an advocate of the Palestinian cause and was not a member of any
political party,” said Amar.
According to the cousin, Nizar left behind five children, the
eldest of whom 16 and the youngest is only 3 months old.
“He never got a chance to hold his newborn, he was chased during
the past period and never met his baby daughter,” added the cousin.
Jordan News sought to obtain a comment from officials at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but they were not available.
In a statement, the US State Department said “We are deeply
disturbed by the death of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat and the information
that has been reported regarding the circumstances of his death … We urge the
Palestinian Authority to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation and
to ensure full accountability in this case. We have serious concerns
about Palestinian Authority restrictions on the exercise of freedom of
expression by Palestinians and harassment of civil society activists and
organizations.”
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