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Jerusalem, December 13, 1999
The family wants to
know why a Palestinian died in Swiss custody
The family of Khaled Ahmad
Suleiman Abu-Zarifeh (27) from Gaza wonders how he died when
he was held in Swiss police custody in March this year,
waiting for his trial.
Khaled
died on March 3 1999, and the family was informed 4 days
later. They got the confirmation from the Office of
President Yasser Arafat. Nabeel al-Rimlawi, the Palestinian
ambassador in Switzerland said that Khaled died as a result
of heart attack, but the family claim that Khaled was in
good health. When asking for the medical report, they got
negative answers as to if it existed or if it was to allowed
taken out of the country (Switzerland).
The body of Khaled arrived
via Israel to Gaza on March 19 1999 and was taken to al-Shifa
hospital in Gaza for an autopsy. The surgeon who conducted
the autopsy, Dr. Abdel-Razek al-masri said that “the best
thing to do for a dead person is to burry him”, but gave no
information about the cause of death.
Khaled worked
illegally in a restaurant in Switzerland, and was afraid
that the Swiss government would deport him because of his
illegal stay. He came to Switzerland from Germany, where he
lived with his aunt. He tried to apply for admission at
universities, but heared that the conditions in Switzerland
would be better, and went there.
Khaled phoned his family in
Palestine during early 1999 and told them he felt “trapped”
by the people he worked for, and a man from Yugoslavia. They
got to know that he was working in some stores, carrying
goods. He told them that his papers (passport and other
documents) was taken away from him and that he felt
threatened. The family asked him to go to the Swiss police,
but Khaled disagreed to do that because of his illegal
status.
The PHRMG have learned that
Khaled was arrested by Swiss police after entering a bank
together with a Jugoslav male, carrying a bag.
His family got word from him
while he was in prison waiting for his trial and
deportation. After that they heard nothing, before being
informed about his death on March 7 1999.
The Palestinian Human Rights
Monitoring Group (PHRMG) ask the Swiss police and the Swiss
government to release the Swiss autopsy report and
information as to the circumstances of Khaled
Ahmad Suleiman Abu-Zarifeh’s
death to his family in Gaza.
For more information, contact the
PHRMG office: Tel: 972 2 6262463, Fax: 972 2 6262378,
E-mail:
admin@phrmg.org
http://www.phrmg.org
The family wants to know why a
Palestinian died in Swiss custody
The family of Khaled Ahmad
Suleiman Abu-Zarifeh (27) from Gaza wonders how he died when
he was held in Swiss police custody in March this year,
waiting for his trial.
Khaled
died on March 3 1999, and the family was informed 4 days
later. They got the confirmation from the Office of
President Yasser Arafat. Nabeel al-Rimlawi, the Palestinian
ambassador in Switzerland said that Khaled died as a result
of heart attack, but the family claim that Khaled was in
good health. When asking for the medical report, they got
negative answers as to if it existed or if it was to allowed
taken out of the country (Switzerland).
The body of Khaled arrived
via Israel to Gaza on March 19 1999 and was taken to al-Shifa
hospital in Gaza for an autopsy. The surgeon who conducted
the autopsy, Dr. Abdel-Razek al-masri said that “the best
thing to do for a dead person is to burry him”, but gave no
information about the cause of death.
Khaled worked illegally in a
restaurant in Switzerland, and was afraid that the Swiss
government would deport him because of his illegal stay. He
came to Switzerland from Germany, where he lived with his
aunt. He tried to apply for admission at universities, but
heared that the conditions in Switzerland would be better,
and went there.
Khaled
phoned his family in Palestine during early 1999 and told
them he felt “trapped” by the people he worked for, and a
man from Yugoslavia. They got to know that he was working in
some stores, carrying goods. He told them that his papers
(passport and other documents) was taken away from him and
that he felt threatened. The family asked him to go to the
Swiss police, but Khaled disagreed to do that because of his
illegal status.
The PHRMG have learned that
Khaled was arrested by Swiss police after entering a bank
together with a Jugoslav male, carrying a bag.
His family got word from him
while he was in prison waiting for his trial and
deportation. After that they heard nothing, before being
informed about his death on March 7 1999.
The Palestinian Human Rights
Monitoring Group (PHRMG) ask the Swiss police and the Swiss
government to release the Swiss autopsy report and
information as to the circumstances of Khaled
Ahmad Suleiman Abu-Zarifeh’s
death to his family in Gaza.
For more information, contact the
PHRMG office: Tel: 972 2 6262463, Fax: 972 2 6262378,
E-mail:
admin@phrmg.org
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