Human rights organizations concerned over persecution of Journalists in the WB

[ PIC 06/04/2012 – 11:31 AM ]

RAMALLAH,(PIC)– Palestinian and international human rights organizations expressed concern about what they called “the high frequency of breaches against media freedoms and freedom of expression in the Palestinian territories.”

On this issue, AFP published a detailed report on persecution of journalists, bloggers and social media users in the West Bank, raising controversy between human rights organizations and journalists who condemn these actions, and PA officials “who deny any government censorship or restrictions on freedom of expression”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted, in a report on media rights and freedom of opinion in the “Palestinian territories”, the escalation of persecution of journalists and bloggers in the Palestinian territories.

A Palestinian journalist and two other bloggers were hounded for their publications, according to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA).

The journalist Yousuf al-Shayeb was released by a court decision, after he was detained for six days for publishing a report on the Palestinian diplomatic mission in France in which he accused them of “corruption.”

The journalist Esmat Abdel-Khaliq was also arrested for publishing defamatory statements about the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The PA Security Service detained the journalist Tariq Khamis for several hours for posting a comment on his personal page, according to MADA.

The Palestinian Democratic Union, the reformist movement within the PLO affirmed that the Attorney General arrested this month one of its cadres, Jamal Abu Raihan for his activity on a web page called: “People want an end to corruption.”

MADA had renewed, in a statement, its rejection to all forms of restrictions on Media freedoms and all the persecution of journalists, saying that such measures restrict journalists’ rights that are stipulated in international treaties and conventions.

For his part, Yasser Salah, the Independent Commission for Human Rights Lawyer, presented to the commission 4 complaints of journalists and bloggers arrested for what they had published on web pages, in addition to other cases.

Six sit-ins were held in Ramalah in the West Bank, during the past month, in solidarity with the journalists and bloggers and protesting against their arrest, the Lawyer told AFP.



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