UN experts urge Israel to withdraw proposed mandatory death penalty bill

UN human rights experts on Wednesday urged Israel to withdraw a proposed bill introducing mandatory death sentences for certain terrorist acts, warning it would violate international law and disproportionately target Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory, Anadolu reports. “Mandatory death sentences are contrary to the right to life. By removing judicial and prosecutorial discretion, they prevent a court from considering the individual circumstances, including mitigating factors, and from imposing a proportionate sentence that fits the crime,” the experts said. According to the statement, the bill creates two tracks. In the occupied West Bank, military courts would impose the death penalty for acts causing death, even if unintended. In Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, it would apply only to the “intentional […]