International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights ICSPR followed with concern the arbitrary arrests campaign by the Palestinian General Intelligence department in the West Bank against five Palestinian journalists from different places in West Bank. All detainees are working in satellite channels and local news agencies with beliefs and policies that contradict the official Palestinian ones, the official news agency reported,” four journalists arrested by the security forces accused of leaking sensitive information to hostile parties, and the matter is under investigation. ”
According to the information, on Tuesday, 8 August 2017, elements of the Palestinian General Intelligence department arrested: The Journalist Mamdouh Mahmoud Hamamrah from Bethlehem, 33 years old, a journalist at Jerusalem channel, Qutaiba Saleh Qassem from Bethlehem, a 29-year-old freelance journalist, Tarek Abdel Razek Abu Zeid from Nablus ,42-year-old ,Al-Aqsa satellite TV correspondent, Abdalhaleem Mohammed Abu Aarafa from Hebron (35 years) Shehab news agency correspondent, and Mohamed Ahmed Halayqeh from Hebron (31 years) Al-Quds T.V correspondent. It has investigated with the journalist Islam Salem, raising the number of journalists in custody to eight.
On Wednesday, 9/8/2017, the security forces in Rafah city, investigated with the journalist Amer Abu Shabab the Algerian Al-Shoroq correspondent, and later the security forces searched his house and confiscated his personal computer, mobile telephone, and then he released at the same day, while the journalist Fouad Jarada is still in the custody of the security forces in Gaza.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights ICSPR expressed it deep concern about the detentions campaign against the five journalists in the West Bank, and the repetition of the summons of journalists and citizens to security forces, emphasizing on the importance of general freedoms. Where law, particularly article 19 of the Palestinian Basic Law 2003, and by the law and international standards guaranteed the freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom of criticism of public authority. ICSPR Urge the security forces in the Palestinian territories, especially the Palestinian general intelligence department of the importance to respect press freedoms and freedom of opinion and expression, as ICSPR demands the following:
ICSPR reaffirms its rejection of the violations against the Palestinian human rights where they occur, as it emphasizes the importance inviolability of the Palestinians’ rights under any pretext or justification
ICSPR consider the detention campaign, a new step in the insistence of the Palestinian government to implement policies to restrict the rights and freedoms, especially press freedoms, by issuing legislation and resolutions violate public freedoms or adapting law articles to such policies, which are incompatible with the national authority commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and by the Palestinian Basic Law
ICSPR demands to release the detained journalists immediately, as it confirms the importance to neutralize the journalists, and enable them to exercise their journalistic freedom, as well as to respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression and press freedoms.
ICSPR demanding the Ministry of the Interior and the leadership of the security forces to take action fact in order to ensure respect for the rights and general freedoms constitutionally guaranteed according to international standards of human rights, particularly freedom of opinion and expression.
ICSPR demanding the Ministry of the Interior and the leadership of the security forces to take serious actions in order to ensure respect of the rights and general freedoms that constitutionally guaranteed according to international standards of human rights, particularly freedom of opinion and expression.
ICSPR calls the Attorney-General to release the five journalists immediately, as well as to enable them to exercise the journalistic work freely.
ICSPR urges the Palestinian judiciary and public prosecution to victory for human rights, and to release any arrested journalist due to exercising one of the fundamental rights and freedoms.
