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Palestinian court adjourns Dahlan trial over corruption charges

December 29, 2014 at 1:36 pm

A Palestinian court in Ramallah has ruled to adjourn the trial of former Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan over corruption charges.

Dahlan’s lawyer, Sevag Torossian, told AFP that the court took the decision on Sunday to move the trial date to 22 January, 2015. Torossian added that the Palestinian court had refused to give him access to documents relating to his client.

Dahlan, the former Palestinian Authority (PA) security chief, was dismissed by Fatah in 2011 and has been living in the UAE where he holds a senior security position. He did not attend the first hearing session for his trial in Ramallah ten days ago.

AFP received a copy of a message sent from Dahlan’s lawyer to the PA public prosecutor saying that he had filed two court applications to see his client’s documents but both were denied.

In the message, Torossian said: “In April 2014, Palestine signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to a just trial.” He added that this right “was not respected” in Dahlan’s case.

Dahlan enjoys good relations with the United States, which attempted to help him carry out a coup against Hamas after its victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections. He was dismissed from Fatah over corruption charges in 2001.