7 September 2010

Despite the holy month of Ramadan, which  usually the violations against journalists and media outlets in the occupied Palestinian territory "oPt" decreased dramatically during it, but, unfortunately the violations have continued during last August, by the Israeli occupying forces and even more by the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Where Alnajah press office director and Alnajah University lecturer Dr. Farid Abu Duhair, was arrested by Palestinian intelligence services members,  Aljazeera Net correspondent Ahmad Fayyad was attacked by members of special police officers of the dismissed government in Gaza, Radio Mazaj FM transmission device was confiscated by the employers of communication and Information technology ministry and Customs Brigade, in the city of Ramallah, Watan TV crew (Khalid Melham and Aysar Barghouthi) were attacked by the Palestinian Security service in Ramallah, Al-hayat Aljadedeh correspondent Mulki Suliman was prevented from covering a march and conference against the direct negotiations between Palestinian National Authority and Israeli government by a civilian people, the journalist Ra’ed Lafi was banned from traveling to Egypt via Rafah crossing by police officers of the dismissed government, columnist Dr. Issam Shawar was detained by the Palestinian security service in Qalqilya city in the West Bank, Sawt Alsha’b radio media officer and vice chairman Tho Alfikar Swergo and its presenter Muhammad Ba’losha were attacked during their coverage to a sit- protest against blackouts in Gaza by the police officers of the dismissed government , and Nablus TV headquarter was raided and its media workers were attacked, by the Ministry and Customs Brigade employers

On another hand the Israeli occupation army attacked the free lance photographer Haitham Alkateeb in a two separated accident during his coverage to Bili’n weekly march near Ramallah city, they also detained the director of Palestinian international company for press Walid Sababa and its cameraman Rae’d Khoury and free lancer television producer Fared Saleh. And the Israeli authorities on Allenby Bridge prevented Al-Quds newspaper correspondent Suhail Khalaf from traveling to Egypt to complete his master study

MADA center condemns all the violations against media freedoms in occupied Palestinian territories, which are a flagrant violation against the freedom of expression which guaranteed in article 19 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Palestinian amended Basic Law. MADA calls the concerned authorities to halt all the violations against the Palestinian journalists and to account those responsible about them.

Details of violations:

(2. Aug) Alnajah press office director and Alnajah University lecturer Dr. Farid Abu Duhair, was arrested on Monday 2 August 2010; By Palestinian Intelligence services members in Nablus city. Dr. Abu Duhair’s wife said that an armed individuals in civilian clothes belonging to the Palestinian intelligence service came to their home in the city of Nablus, about 11:00 PM on Monday, 2 August 2010, and asked her husband to accompany them to the intelligence headquarters in Nablus, when he asked about the reason, the answer was because the intelligence director wants to meet him for an hour. But they keep him under arrest till Tuesday evening 10 August 2010.

(2.Aug) Al-Quds newspaper correspondent Suhail Khalaf was prevented from traveling to Egypt to complete his master study, by the Israeli occupation authority. The accident took place on Monday 2 August 2010. Khalaf said that he went to the King Hussein Bridge on Monday to travel to Egypt, but he was surprised from his detention by Occupation authority for three hours, then they told him that he was prohibited from traveling without giving him reasons. Khalaf added: “I was prevented from traveling on 5 September 2009, but I went to the Israeli liaison office and I gave them my papers, so they gave me a paper that I can travel. So I made all the necessary arrangements for travel and registered again at the university, but I was surprised that I was banned from traveling".

(3. Aug) Nablus TV headquarter was raided and its media workers were attacked, by the Ministry and Customs Brigade employers. The Director of the Nablus TV Mahmoud Barham said that the director of the Communications Section at the Ministry in Nablus, the Director of Customs Brigade and his assistant, came on Tuesday 3 August 2010 to the television’s headquarters, demanding them to close it and stop the broadcast, without a formal decision to do so, and when they refused that, they summoned a police support. They have also attacked the media workers on the television because they filmed the raid; they also confiscated cameras and deleted the images from them. Barham added: "According to Palestinian law, the ministry must have resort to the justice in case of any violations by television stations; he added Nablus TV has corrected 99% of its legal conditions during the last period."

(4. Aug) Aljazeera Net correspondent Ahmad Fayyad was attacked by members of special police officers of the dismissed government in Gaza. The accident took place on Wednesday 4 August 2010. Fayyad said that he went last Wednesday about 8:30 PM to cover the Festival of the Jordanian band "Tuyor Al Janeh" , and when he arrived there he noticed a resentment of the citizens due to overcrowding at the gate of the event. He decided to portray the over crowd. Meanwhile, a member of the special police shouted at him, and asked him to approach him, and asked him to see the photos. Then another policeman came and he was screaming violently, he also requested another look at the pictures, so Fayyad gave him the camera. But the policeman began to beat him on his down neck and insulting him in obscene words in front of his three children who started to cry. But the police continued to beat him. Fayyad added: "After that I went to Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis they told me that I had bruises and redness in the down of my neck and upper jaw, then I went to the police chief office in Gaza, and when I told him what had happened, he apologized and promised to open an investigation into the incident and to account those responsible for it."

(4. Aug) Radio Mazaj FM transmission device was confiscated by the employers of communication and Information technology ministry and Customs Brigade, in the city of Ramallah, on 4 August 2010. The program manager of Radio Mazaj FM Ahmed Farraj said that around five employers of Customs Brigade and the Ministry of Information and Technology came yesterday to the headquarters of the radio and said that they have a decision to confiscate the transmitter, but they weren’t have any written decision. So they confiscated the device and gave it back after two days.

(7. Aug) The journalist Ra’ed Lafi was banned from traveling to Egypt via Rafah crossing by police officers of the dismissed government whose located in the crossing. The accident took place on Saturday 7 August 2010. Lafi said in statement that he had gone on Saturday to the Rafah crossing to travel to Egypt, when he entered the Palestinian hall he met a journalist colleague and his wife, where a police officer came and took their passports and accompanied them to the passport officer, who told him: you will not be allowed  to travel. Lafi added: "After that I sat down waiting for two hours, where the police man came and asked me to accompany him with my luggage outside the hall on the pretext that there is no coordinatin for me with the Egyptian side. After that I contacted the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to make sure that there is coordination but nevertheless the crossing stuff refused to ask the Palestinians official coordination in the Egyptian hall, and the police officer came and grabbed me in my arms and took me back to the exit crossing gate".

(7. Aug) Columnist Dr. Issam Shawer was detained on Saturday 7 August 2010, by the Palestinian security service in the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank. Shawer said that members of the security services came to his brother pharmacy on 11:00 PM and took him to his house, where they searched the house for two hours and confiscated his children’s computer, some CDs and personal papers, then they took him by force to his clinic where they search it for an hour and half. Shawer added: “After that they took me to their headquarters in Qalqilya, and detained me until 23 August 2010, without giving any reason".

(7. Aug) AP photographer Iyad Hamad and Pal media cameraman Samer Hamad were suffocated during their coverage of the weekly march in Biet Omar in the city of Hebron. The accident took place on Saturday 7 August 2010. Iyad Hamad said that he went with his colleague Samer to cover the weekly march’s event, and during that the Israeli occupation forces threw a Gas bomb on the demonstrators and journalists from a close distance, so they were subjected a server difficulty in breathing.

(10. Aug) Tho Alfikar Swergo, Sawt Alsha’b radio media officer and vice chairman, and its presenter Muhammad Ba’losha were attacked during their coverage to a sit- protest against blackouts in Gaza by the police officers of the dismissed government . Swergo said that he was with group of journalists in the courtyard of “Unknown Soldier" in Gaza to make a live coverage of the march on Sawt Alsha’b radio. During that the police officers attacked him and the presenter Ba’losha with rifle butts, causing him a broke on his fifth blade in his rib cage from the left side, as Ba’losha suffered from bruises and contusions in different parts of his body.

(21. Aug) The free lance photographer Haitham Alkhateeb was attacked by the Israeli occupation army on Friday 21 August 2010, in Bili’n village near Ramallah city. Alkhateeb said that he went to cover the weekly march in Bili’n, and during his picturing the arrest of international solidarity, one of the Israeli army beat him on his chest by something he didn’t notice, causing him a pain and bruises on his chest.

(25. Aug) Watan TV crew (Khalid Milhim and Aysar Barghouthi) were attacked by the Palestinian Security service on Saturday 25 August 2010, in Ramallah city. The accident took place while the journalists were covering a protest march against prevent holding a conference against direct negotiations between Palestinian National Authority and Israeli government, which organized by a group of Palestinian factions and civil society organizations. Watan TV said in a statement that the security services have beaten the two journalists Milhim and Barghouthi and confiscated their camera tape. On another hand Al-Hayat Aljadedeh correspondent Mulki Suliman said that he went to cover the march and conference events, and when the demonstrators reach the middle of Ramallah city (near Ramallah’s cafe) , a group of people in a civilian clothes were standing against them and holding  pictures for President Mahmoud Abbas and obfuscating on them. While Suliman was filming someone came and said to him it’s not allowed to take pictures, so they argued, during the argument the person called some of his companions and took the camera from him by force and they wipe out all the photos and videos inside. And they put guard to watch him until the end of the march. Suliman added: “The guard asked me to go out from the area otherwise they will beat and imprison me. The important thing for me as a journalist, that I saw some television channels filming freely without harassment, so why they harassed me and stopped me from covering?"

(26. Aug) The director of Palestinian international company for press Walid Sababa and its cameraman Rae’d Khoury and free lance television producer Fared Saleh were detained by the Israeli occupation army, while they were filming at Al-Aqsa mosque. The cameraman Khoury said that they went on the afternoon of Thursday; 26 August 2010 at Al-Aqsa Mosque to portray a children's program for the Saudi channel “Simsim" which specialized in children’s programs. When they left the mosque after finishing the filming the Israeli army detained them and confiscated their equipment, identity and press cards. “They detained us at a police station near Hutah gate for two hours then they released us".

(27. Aug) The free lance photographer Haitham Alkhateeb was attacked by the Israeli occupation forces on Friday 27 August 2010. The acceding took place while he was covering Bili’n weekly march near the city of Ramallah. Alkhateeb said that he headed to Bili’n village to cover the march’s events and during that one of the Israeli soldier threw a tear gas bomb on his back from a close distance (approximately 30 meter), causing him a wounds and pain in his back.

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Contact:

Riham Abu Aita
Public Relation Officer
Ramallah
riham@madacenter.org
HYPERLINK "http://www.madacenter.org" www.madacenter.org
00970 2 2976519