Press Release
ICSPR P.A. forces detention the journalist Ayman Al-Qawasmi violates the Public Freedoms especially the freedom of the press and media
International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights ICSPR followed with deep concern arresting the journalist Ayman Al-Qawasmi, the executive head of the al-Hureyia Media Network, on Sunday 03 September 2017 by the Palestinian Preventive Security, he was detained at the headquarter of the Preventive Security office, Al-Qawasmi told his family that the decision to arrest him was issued by the President Abbas, Al-Qawasmi was taken prisoner, Sunday, apparently for his Facebook statement demanding President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Hebron governor, Kamel Hmeid, and many other officials to submit their resignations for their inability to protect their people.
Arresting Al- Qawasmi comes just days after Israeli soldiers invaded and shut down a Radio station in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and ordered it shut for six months, after violently searching and ransacking it. During the invasion, the soldiers confiscated equipment from the media agency.
The Palestinian General Intelligence launched on Tuesday 08 August 2017 an arbitrary detention campaign against five Palestinian journalists they are: Mamdouh Mahmoud Hamamrah (33 years old), who lives in Bethlehem, a correspondent at Al-Quds channel, the Journalist Qutaiba Saleh Qassem, a 29-year-old freelance journalist from Bethlehem, Tarek Abdel Razek Abu Zeid, 42-year-old Al-Aqsa satellite TV correspondent; from Nablus, the journalist Abdul Halim Mohamed Abu Arafa 35 years old, Shehab news agency correspondent, from Hebron, and journalist Mohamed Ahmed Halaiqa, 31 years old, Al-Qusa Channel correspondent, from Hebron who was released last month.
International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights ICSPR followed with deep concern arresting the journalist Ayman Al-Qawasmi, it emphasizing on respecting the public freedoms especially the freedom of the press and media, ICSPR Reaffirms that freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom of criticism of public authority is guaranteed by article (19) of the Palestinian Basic Law, 2003, and under the law and international standards, as well as it urge the Palestinian Preventive Security of the importance of respecting the freedom of the media and journalists and freedom of expression, therefore; ICSPR record and calls for:
ICSPR Reaffirms its firm position of rejecting all the violations of human rights wherever they occur, proceeding from the importance of the inviolability of the Palestinian citizen’s rights under any pretext or justification.
ICSPR considers that the detention of the Journalist Al-Qawasmi, a new step of the Palestinian presidency’s insistence on the implementation of policies aimed to restrict rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the press freedoms, by adapting the provisions of the law to such policies, which are incompatible with the National Authority commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the Palestinian Basic Law.
ICSPR demand the Ministry of Interior and National Security to take serious actions in order to guarantee respecting the rights and public freedoms that constitutionally guaranteed in accordance with international human rights standards, especially the freedom of opinion and expression.
ICSPR Calls the General-Attorney to intervene immediately in order to ensure the immediate release of the Journalist Ayman Al-Qawasmi, and enabling him to return to his work as soon as possible.
5. ICSPR urges the Palestinian local judiciary to victory for human rights, and order to release any detainees due to exercising one of the fundamental rights and free
