PA court indicts dismissed Dahlan

Palestinian Authority’s anti-corruption court yesterday sentenced Palestinian MP Mohamed Dahlan to three years in prison, as well as to pay $16.2 million in stolen fund, Quds Net reported.

The court considered Dahlan, 55, who was sentenced in absentia, a fugitive, noting that he stole $18 million from the PA in 2007.

In 2001, the PA and Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Dahlan, who is currently living in the UAE, from Fatah, accusing him of involvement in corruption.

“The court accuses Dahlan of stealing funds when he was a security aide for Abbas in 2006,” Dahlan’s lawyer Salam Halsah said, noting that the court’s decision is not open for appeal because Dahlan is abroad.

The Palestinian Constitutional Court, which was formed by Abbas, gave Abbas the authority to revoke Dahlan’s parliamentary immunity.

Dahlan is one out of five Fatah MPs whose parliamentarian immunity was revoked following personal disputes with Abbas.