UN experts urge Israel to release ex-Gaza World Vision chief

The conviction and imprisonment of the former Gaza head of World Vision, a major US-based aid agency, violates international law, UN rights experts said Wednesday, demanding that Israel release him immediately.

The four independent experts described the proceedings leading to the conviction of  Mohammed al-Halabi last year as "deeply flawed" and said the verdict and his lengthy prison sentence were "egregious violations of the right to a fair trial."

Halabi was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in August 2022, after being convicted of funneling millions of dollars and tonnes of steel to Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave. 

Halabi, who was arrested in June 2016 and indicted in August that year, has denied any irregularities. An audit ordered by World Vision found no evidence of diverted funds. 

The experts, including the Special Rapporteurs on the rights situation in the Palestinian Territory and on protecting human rights while countering terrorism, pointed to "the lack of evidence against him presented in open court."

They also highlighted "the extensive use of secret evidence, closed-door hearings, restricted communication with his lawyer, severe restrictions on the lawyer for the preparation of his defense and the failure to try him without undue delay."

The experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, also condemned his treatment during six years of pre-trial detention, including reported solitary confinement and coercion to provide a confession. 

He also allegedly faced ill-treatment that could amount to torture, they said, pointing to beatings so severe he lost hearing in one ear. 

"By convicting and imprisoning Mr. al-Halabi, Israel has not achieved its purported aim of deterring any act of terrorism," the experts said. 

"Instead, by this act, Israel is violating international law and aggravating the coercive environment for Palestinians under occupation, by using 'counter-terrorism' legislation to silence, penalize and punish Palestinians who engage in legitimate human rights and humanitarian work." 

The experts added Halabi's appeal hearings had been repeatedly postponed, and Israeli authorities had refused to provide access to files needed to prepare the appeal process.

They said Israel acted with a "blatant disregard for the right to a fair trial, which explicitly guarantees that the accused be tried and heard without undue delays, at all stages of criminal proceedings."

"Such manifestly unfair proceedings may render his detention arbitrary under international human rights law," they said.