Palestinian ex-Officer Dies after 'Fall' in Police Custody

A retired Palestinian security officer died on Sunday of injuries sustained after falling from a window while in Palestinian custody, security sources told Agence France Presse.

Osama Aql Mansour, 49, was pronounced dead at a Ramallah hospital, where he was transported suffering serious injuries. His brother told AFP he believed Mansur had been murdered.

"This citizen is a retired security officer who was being held by the intelligence services in Ramallah on suspicion of corruption involving the sale of land," a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"He fell from a building and died, but we do not know if he fell or was pushed," the source added.

The details were confirmed by a second security source, who said the man was being investigated on suspicion of having "manipulated land records and sold land to Israel."

Reached by phone, Mansour's brother Hassan said the family held the Palestinian Authority responsible for the death.

"The family visited him on Friday and he was in good psychological condition with no indication that he was in any sort of state to commit suicide, so we demand an autopsy to find out who killed my brother," he told AFP.

Medical sources said Mansour's body had been taken to the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, for an autopsy.