Adalah Appeals to the Occupation's Supreme Court for the Release of the Corpses of Six Arab Citizens

SadaNews - The Adalah legal center submitted a petition to the Supreme Court today, Sunday, requesting that the state be compelled to immediately release the corpses of six Arab citizens that have been held for a long time, and to hand them over to their families for burial in accordance with religious rites.

The petition was submitted by attorney Salam Ershid on behalf of the deceased's relatives, noting that recent field developments, particularly the end of the negotiations concerning the file of prisoners and corpses, have removed the basis on which the state relied to continue holding the corpses.

The petition clarified that the court had previously rejected similar requests, based on the claim that the detention served the negotiation process. However, this justification, according to the petition, is no longer valid after recent changes, including the implementation of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, which necessitates a re-examination of this decision.

The petition stated that the continued detention of the corpses "lacks a legal basis and constitutes a disproportionate violation of human dignity," affirming that the right to a dignified burial is part of the constitutional right to dignity.

Adalah demanded that the court issue an immediate order requiring the state to hand over the corpses to the families, enabling them to bury their loved ones according to their religious beliefs.

It is noteworthy that Adalah has been engaged in a continuous legal struggle against this policy of holding corpses for years, considering it an inhumane and humiliating practice that may rise to the level of torture and collective punishment. Alongside the petition submitted today, there are still additional pending petitions before the Supreme Court demanding the immediate release of the corpses of Palestinians, citizens of the state and residents of East Jerusalem. Among them are three petitions submitted in recent weeks, demanding the release of the corpse of Walid Daqa, the corpse of Wadi Aliyan, who is 14 years old, and the corpse of the young man Ahmad Arikat from the West Bank.