
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian imprisoned in the besieged Gaza Strip was found dead in his cell in the Deir Balah detention center on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Interior in the small Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory reported.
Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Buzm told Ma'an that Muhammad Ashour Barbakh, 43, was found dead in his cell by fellow inmates when they tried to wake him up.
Police and prosecution have opened an investigation into the case after coroners found marks around Barbakh’s neck during the autopsy, which they believed were made with a rope.
Al-Buzm added that Barbakh was detained on Dec. 15, 2016 and had been held in pretrial detention, although he did not specify the reasons for Barbakh’s detention.